A Tale of Two Carters
by Lizzi0307
Summary: ***COMPLETE*** What if what you knew to be true, turned out false, and what you knew to be false, turned out to be true?
1. Chapter 1

A Tale of Two Carters

_What if what you knew to be true, turned out false, and what you knew to be false, turned out to be true?_

_I own nothing except the creations of my own characters the the crazy situations I put them into. The rest I am simply borrowing for my own twisted pleasure. _

_In this story there will be references to Ein Käfig voller Helden. This is the German dub of the American show Hogan's Heroes. As such, I have tried to be clear on some of the jokes that may not be clear to English speaks who obviously have not seen the dubbed show. One of them being Kalinke, Klink's housekeeper, and mistress. If there are ever any questions on this, please let me know. And as always, please R&R, I would love to know how I am doing! :D_

_This story takes place between the first and second episodes. _

_-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-_

Hogan was leaning against the side of his barracks tossing a baseball up in the air, when the LKW rolled in. Focusing his attention on the lorry, he noticed that there were two guards who jumped out, and then preceded to pull out a downed allied flyer. He sighed. He pained him every time one of his countrymen ended up in his pit. Resigning to the fact that there would be another man under his charge he tried to get a better look at him. Hogan gasped when he saw the boy's face. He knew that face! Searching his memory, the face came back to him.

"Carter…Lieutenant Carter…" he whispered to himself. He had to make sure he was wrong. _How could Carter end up back up here? What went wrong with the escape route?_ Hogan's mind raced. Taking large steps, he preceded to try and head off the guards before they made into Klink's office.

"Halt! Sie dürfen nicht mit dem Gefangener sprechen. Der Kommandant musst zu erst mit ihm reden. Verstehen Sie? Verrrrbooooteeeen! _(Stop! You are not allowed to speak with the prisoner. The Kommandant must first speak with him. Understand? Foooribiiiiddennn!)_" The guard made large gestures along with his loud, slow speech. Even though Hogan understood him perfectly, he couldn't let on, and instead ignored the guard and continued with his demand.

"Look. I am the Senior POW officer. The head _Kriegie_. Now I want to be present when the Kommandant speaks with him." Hogan tried to catch a glimpse of the prisoner's face. From the view he got, it was Carter, but something was wrong. He was wearing sergeant's stripes.

"Gehen Sie weg! Sie dürfen nicht mit ihm reden! _(Go away! You are not allowed to speak with him!)_" The guards hulled the prisoner onto the porch and inside the Kommandant's office. Hogan turned around and as quickly as he could, returned to his barracks. Signally to his men, (Sergeant James Kinchloe, Corporal Louis LeBeau, and Corporal Peter Newkirk), the four of them went into this office. Kinchloe, or Kinch, plugged in the "coffee pot" better known as their speaker from the bug hidden in Klink's office.

"What's goin' on gov'ner? Was 'at a new prisoner they brough' in?" Newkirk asked.

"Yeah. And it wasn't just any prisoner. It was that kid, uh, Lieutenant Carter, from about…I'd say, five months ago." He paused, "let's listen to what ol' Klink has to say…"

_"-ver a successful escape from Stalag Luft 13. Which means, for you, the war is oooover. Now, you were shot down over…Hamburg. Tell me what was your mission, what sort of plane were you flying, that sort of thing."_

_"Carter, Andrew Jonathan. Sergeant. Serial number 02763350."_ Carter's voice was heard shaking on the coffeepot.

"Colonel, I thought you said he was a lieutenant?" LeBeau inquired.

"Yeah he was, I remember." Kinch said thoughtfully. Hogan quickly hushed them.

_"Very well, since you won't talk. I am assigning you to Barracks 2. But if you think of anything, don't hesitate to tell me!"_ Klink was cut off by Hogan unplugging the pot.

"No one talks to him about our mission. I want to see what is going on first. There is something here that doesn't feel right."

"Oui mon Colonel!"

"Do you want us to give him a thorough check, like normal?" Kinch asked. Hogan paused a moment before answering.

"It might be better. There is just something out of place here. Give him the normal rundown, plus a little shaking and turn him inside out, let's see what falls out. I want to know what's up, and why he's back here a whole rank lower. It could be a trick, or it could be nothing. Kinch, can you fill the guys in?"

"Of course, colonel."

"Newkirk, check his pockets."

"With pleasure. But I do slightly resent 'at you always think of me when it comes to slight of the 'and operations."

"That's because you're so good at it, Newkirk."

"Thanks guv…I think?"

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan walked back outside just in time to see Feldwebel Georg Hans Schultz, Sergeant of the Guard, leading the new prisoner across the compound. He watched as Schultz had a hand on the shoulder of Carter, in almost a fatherly way, and was talking softly to him. Carter on the other hand was walking slowly dragging his boots in the dirt, starring at the ground, not saying anything.

"-nice guy. Really. But don't worry, people are really nice here." Schultz spoke softly to him, Carter merely nodded without raising his head. Hogan took a few steps closer to them as they approached.

"Hey Schosie (1)! Who's this you got here? I thought I was suppose to be informed when we got a new guy at our lovely resort."

"I'm sorry, Colonel Hogan. But he just came in. The Kommandant has already spoken with him. He is assigned to your barracks." Schultz took his hand of Carter's shoulder, as if leaving him in Hogan's charge.

"Ah, well we can always use a new face around here." Hogan was anxious to get Carter inside.

"I'm glad we can help then." Shultz responded to Hogan, and then turned to Carter, "It'll be ok. People are nice here." Carter barely nodded but still said nothing, never taking his eyes off the ground.

"Why don't you come inside?" Hogan opened the door, then placing his hand on Carter's shoulder lead him inside, and closing the door behind them. "I'm Colonel Robert Hogan. What's your name?"

"Carter… Andrew… sergeant…027-" Carter spoke barely above a whisper, cutting himself off as he realized he was starting to give his serial number. He brought his eyes up long enough to look around the barracks and then brought them back to the floor. Hogan noticed the kid seem upset, scared, and stressed, so he led him to a bottom bunk next to the door; it was shared by Newkirk.

"Here is your bunk. Your bunkmate is a guy named Peter Newkirk. He's quite friendly, and really fond of good tea. So if you have any, don't let him know!" Hogan tried to lighten the mood. Carter merely nodded and stayed silent. Hogan was troubled that the boy was so quiet. _Unsurprising_, he thought, _the kid is barely over 20 (__2)__. And his whole world has been turned upside down and inside out._ Hogan pulled up the bench from the table and sat down next to him.

"Look. I know it seems to be the end of the world. But trust me, this place isn't so bad. And if you want to talk…I have an office right through that door, alright?" Hogan spoke softly so the other men wouldn't hear. Once again, Carter merely nodded. Hogan stood back up, signalled to LeBeau, and they walked into his office.

"What's wrong mon Colonel?" LeBeau asked.

"I want you guys to hold off grilling Carter for a day or so, I don't mean don't question him, just be sensitive about it. I very much doubt this guy is a kraut in disguise, and the kid seems to have gone through hell. So, right now, just be a friend and let's see if he will open up on his own. But still, nothing about the mission unless cleared by me. This still could be a kraut trick."

"Oui Colonel. I understand."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan sat alone in his office for the next few hours. He was going nuts over their new guy. _Sergeant__ Andrew Carter. __Sergeant__. Why was he a sergeant? And that name, Andrew. That didn't seem right either. _Hogan was dying to get down into the tunnel and check the kid out, with Carter in the room not knowing about their real operation, it was impossible for them to open the tunnel without him noticing. _Of course if it isn't a kraut trick there is nothing to hide, he went through here just some time ago. There is something wrong here. Something out of place…what is it!_

It was getting towards dark, and Hogan knew that roll call would be soon. He opened his office-door which led into the main part of the barracks, and the first thing he saw was Kinch sitting next to Carter talking softly. Hogan smiled. _Good, old Kinch_. _If there was anyone to get the poor, scared kid to open up, it would be him._ Hogan quickly adverted his eyes, as to not stare. He walked over to the stove to poor himself some hot water. _Wish the Red Cross packages would get here_, he thought, _we need some more coffee, ASAP_.

Hogan tried to not listen in to the conversation between Kinch and Carter, but being incredibly curious, and sitting not a metre away, he couldn't help but overhear.

"-there was just flames…everywhere. Everywhere! There was nothing…nothing I could do…I-I-I…panicked. I panicked! I didn't know what to do! There was just flames! Fire! I had to get out…but I couldn't leave Steve behind. He's my best friend…_was_ my best friend…"

"You had to leave him behind?" Kinch asked softly. Carter nodded.

"He was dead…" Carter barely whispered.

"There was nothing you could do. You're alive. That is something to be thankful for. Remember that."

"Steve isn't…my brother isn't..." he paused a moment, "you know what I wish for more than anything? That my brother and I were back in Bull Frog playing. I have this chemistry set you see, and well we used to experiment. It drove our mom nuts."

"Don't worry. You'll get home. We all will."

"Not Jimmy…" Carter paused for a moment. Kinch noticed him rub both his eyes and nose like a sad child. "Well Anthony….but we always called him Jimmy. He hated Anthony. Anthony Jimmy Carter. We had the same initials see? AJC. Anthony Jimmy Carter and Andrew John Carter."

"I can tell you were very close. Is your brother also fighting the war?" Carter nodded but continued to stare at his boots. "Were you in the same outfit?" Kinch started to softly probe to see if he could get some info out of Carter. Carter shook his head.

"No. We were both Air Force (3), but he was the pilot, I am just the bombardier. The Army separated us in case…in case…"

"In case on of our units got killed or captured?" Kinch finished his sentence. Carter again nodded, there was a slight tear in the corner of his eye. "So Bull Frog. I haven't heard of it." Kinch changed the subject.

"North Dakota. Great little town. Where are you from?"

"Detroit. North Dakota. Remind me again, where is North Dakota, my geography is a little rusty." Had Carter not been so upset, he would have given Kinch the weirdest look he'd ever received.

"Next to South Dakota." Kinch had to bit his tongue to keep from laughing out loud. _Touché_. "What's your favourite thing to do there?"

"To get a pop at the Five n Dime with my girl."

"Sounds nice."

"Nice? It's better than nice. They even have Nickelodeons!" For the first time Carter looked over at Kinch before returning his gaze back to the floor.

"Wow. Sounds like a special place. We didn't have anything like that in Detroit." Kinch was going to keep talking when Schultz came in.

"Roll Call! Roll Call! Everybody out. Raus, raus, raus! Macht schnell! Geh ma', geh ma', geh ma'!"

„Again Schultzie? But we just did this morning." LeBeau teased Schultz.

"Jolly Joker." Hogan walked towards the door, catching Kinch's eye as he lead Carter out the door. Kinch gave a the barest of nods to Hogan, which Hogan interrupted as: all clear.

The barracks exited outside into the early spring air as Sergeant Schultz walked up and down the line counted the men. The prisoners, deciding to show off for their newest member, shifted around, throwing off the count; forcing Schultz to recount five separate times, before Kommandant Klink threatened them with not only being thrown in the cooler, but throwing the Tommy Dorsey records in there as well, in order to get them to stop long enough for Schultz to get an accurate count. Colonel Hogan, usually full of sly remarks, and witty come-backs for Klink, waited impatiently for roll call to end, and as the last barrack guard, reported that all prisoners were accounted for, and the prisoners were dismissed, quickly made a B-line for Klink's quarters, Kinch had to run in order to catch up with him.

"Co-colonel!"

"What is it, Kinch."

"I've-I've got-got-ten him to open up a little…may, may I ask where you are going, sir?" Kinch tried to catch his breath as he slid into pace with is commander.

"Klink's quarters. I'm going into the tunnel that way to radio London about our new member. Since we can't use the entrance in our own barracks, and I don't want to risk using the entrance under the dog kennel. We really need to expand the tunnel to some of the other barracks. Have some of the guys start workin' on that tomorrow."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense." Kinch paused a moment to recollect his thoughts, "I was just saying, I've gotten him to open up a bit. He's quite traumatized, I very much doubt he is a kraut. Really sir. Given enough time I think I can find out why he is back here as a sergeant. But I do request that people are sensitive for a while sir. He's just a scared kid."

"Granted. Now if you excuse me. I have a call to make." With that Hogan cracked the door open and slide inside the room.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch returned to the barracks and looked over at their newest member. He was lying on the top bunk, facing the wall. Kinch sighed sadly, remembering all too well how the boy is currently feeling, thinking of when he himself was shot down. _But, being shot down once, breaking out, and then being shot down again…that has to take a toll on you. I wonder why he hasn't asked about breaking out of here yet? Unless he doesn't remember it was this camp? _Kinch shook his head and sat down at the table. He missed playing cards with his old Russian friend, Vladimir Minsk, he tried not to think about his friend being gone, but it was at moment likes these that he missed him the most.

"'Ey Kinch!" Newkirk hopped off his bottom bunk. "Wanna play some cards?"

"Sure. But leave your hands on the table where I can see them. And roll your sleeves up. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just, I don't trust you." Kinch smiled. Newkirk grinned.

"I'd feel 'urt if it wasn't true. Should we get me new bunkie involved?" Newkirk tilted his head towards the top bunk.

"Nah. Let him sleep. He deserves any sleep he can get after what he's been through." Kinch picked up his cards that Newkirk dealt him. From his position facing the wall, Carter was far from asleep and listening to every word they were saying.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- EKvH-

"What do you mean "uncapable of telling me at this time"? You have all the information! All I want to know is who I currently have laying next to my _rabbit hole_ and if he is a threat to _our_ little _waltz_? Over." Hogan screamed into the radio. A moment later a calm, crisp English voiced answered.

"Sorry old chap. "No can do" as you Yanks say. We are having a bit of mole in our information department. It has everyone's knickers in quite a bunch. Alas, I am unable to forward your request, Papa Bear. You lads must have other methods, eh? Over."

"_Look_, Mama Bear. I need to know if he is a threat! I can't keep hiding the operation from him if he's safe. And if he isn't I want to get him out of here! Over!"

"I daresay that _is_ a bit of a sticky wicket…-"

"'I daresay', Mama Bear that I don't like the idea of having a man here I know nothing about. He came through here 5 months ago, as a lieutenant. And I want to know why he is now a sergeant. You don't bust a man like that for nothing. Over."

"I'm sorry, Papa Bear. I wish you lads a spot of luck though. Surely you'll figure out something, eh. We will get back to you when we can. Cherrio! Mama Bear out." Hogan heard the _click_ on their end and hung up the radio set. That was defiantly not the answer he was looking for from London.

"'We will get back to you when we can'. Thanks London…" Hogan mumbled under his breath. Standing up he automatically started heading towards the tunnel entrance under barracks two, as he got ready to signal, he remembered he couldn't use the entrance quite yet. Sighing he walked to the other end and headed towards the entrance in Kommandant Klink's quarters. _We really need to work on expanding the tunnel. At least to some of the other barrackses. One, three, and five. Four is never used, so we can do that one later…_ Hogan started planning as he cautiously made his way up the tunnel entrance and snuck across the Kommandant's living quarters and back towards his barracks.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

(1) One of my crazy German EKvH references, a nickname for Schultz

(2) I made Carter younger because in the USA in the 1960s they used older actors to play kids. And it works for my story better.

(3) US Army Air Corp became US Army Air Force in 1942


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I did not have time to write this weekend, so this is only a short chapter. As for the questions pointed out in the reviews, my answer is: I agree, those are good questions...what do you think? IS he the same Carter...or is he NOT?_

_In diesem Kapitel gibt es noch mal Schultz, aber spricht er denn auf Deutsch. Ich versuchte ihn mit 'ner Bayrischer Akzent auf zu reden. Hoffenlich geht das. _

_I promise the story does pick up next chapter and things get a LOT more interesting..._

_ -HH- -EKvH- -HH- EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-_

As Hogan entered the barracks, he saw that Carter was lying on his side facing the wall. He briefly considered talking to the kid, but quickly dismissed it. He was an officer, and not only that, a colonel. It was doubtful that the boy would open up to someone who had the power to bust him even lower. _I'll let Kinch continue to work with him. It sounds like he's already opened up a bit. This better not be a kraut trick, because toying with our emotions like this should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention somewhere. _Hogan sighed and leaned against the bunk nearest the common-room table and watched Kinch and Newkirk play cards.

"I seem to remember saying keep your hands on the table where I can see them." Kinch looked slightly displeased.

"'Ey, I 'ave been. But when a man's gotta itch 'is back, a man's gotta itch it."

"And magically appear back with two Aces?"

"'Ey. I resent 'at."

"It's true. Because well," Kinch laid his hand down on the table. "I already have those aces."

"When did ya get observant an' clever?"

"Why, working with you of course, Peter. You have thought me much in the art of observation." Kinch grinned.

"Oh. Well then ya should thank me, and give me ya chips in payment." Newkirk returned the grin.

"Uh-uh. I won fair and square." The bickering quickly turned to light-hearted insults about England and America. Hogan couldn't help but smile as the two friends joked back and forth.

Finishing his cup of hot water, _when are the Red Cross packages gonna get here_, Hogan walked slowly to his office, where he started to pace in a steady manner until Sergeant Schultz showed up to announce lights out.

Hogan paused a moment in his pacing as he heard the usual playing bickering between guard and prisoners as Schultz turned off the lights. His room suddenly became dark, and he sighed, resigning to go to bed. _At least we don't have a mission tonight. It would be hard to explain our absence to Carter. Unless of course he remembers that we are the ones who helped him escape out of Germany_. Hogan climbed into bed. _I wonder what happened to him after he left…_Hogan pondered different scenarios in his mind as he drifted to sleep.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! NOOOOOOO! STEEEEVE! AAAAAH! NOOOO!" CRASH! The sound of screaming and a body smashing to the floor woke every member of barracks two. Hogan raced out of his office to find a still screaming Sergeant Carter, still apparently in a nightmare thrashing on the floor, Newkirk and Kinch were trying to console and wake up the terrified kid.

"Andrew! Andrew! Wake up! It's only a dream! Newkirk shook his shoulder.

"Come-on, Andrew. It's okay. You're safe. Wake-up!" Kinch tried to pull him to his feet.

"Was is' hia denn los! _(What's going on here!)_" Schultz swung the door wide open. His eyes taking a moment to adjust. "Colonel Hogan…Why aren't your men in bed…?"

"Nightmare, Schultz. We have it under control. Don't worry."

"Boy. It sounds like a bad one. Poor Carter. Did he fall out of bed?"

"Yes Schultz." Hogan started to escort Schultz out of the barracks. The rest of the men excluding Kinch, Newkirk, and Carter headed themselves back to bed.

"My middle child would fall out of bed sometimes. Very painful. We put up bars. Put him on the lower bunk. That way he doesn't hurt himself. He didn't hurt himself…did he?"

"Not badly. Thank you for the suggestion, Night Schosie." To be honoust, Hogan hadn't gotten a chance to check. He prayed that Carter wasn't seriously hurt. But the whole barracks shook when he fell. Hogan walked over, afraid of the answer. "How badly is he hurt?"

"Not too badly, colonel. He's got a nasty bruise on his forehead here. And will probably have one mother of a headache tomorrow. And Wilson should probably take a look at his arm. Other than that, I'm guessing he's fine." Kinch whispered. Carter was sleeping now on Newkirk's lower bunk.

"Newkirk, if it's alright with you, I am not ordering, but highly suggesting Carter have the bottom bunk for a few days."

"Not a problem Colonel. If it saves me from 'aving to find a 'chute for 'im in the dark, that's fine by me." Newkirk crawled up onto the top bunk. Hogan rolled his eyes, though no one could see in the dark.

"Good. Then let's all get some sleep."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

There was a quiet yet collective sigh as the men settled back down to sleep. Newkirk was just starting to relax when he heard some mumbling below him. _You 'ave got to be bloody jokin'…_ popping his head over the side and starring down at the sleeping figure he saw Carter fidgeting in his sleep again. Turning his head, he saw Kinch, who was the next nearest bunk, pop himself up on one elbow und shrug.

"Should we wake 'im?" Newkirk whispered.

"I dunno. Maybe listen? Perhaps we can get info outta him? I'm not sure…" Kinch wasn't sure, all he really wanted to do was sleep, seeing he didn't have to man the radio that night.

"…Jimmy…..…... .run…..…. goes BOOM…..… Snoopy…... Jimmy…. but I don't wanna go to school…. the chem lab went boom….. sorry mom… .feed Snoopy…. drafted…. taken prisoner…. yes feed Snoopy…. sorry Sir, no more explosions… .feed Snoopy, yes Mom…. Don't let Snoopy in, Jimmy, we don't want him to lick the nitro-glycerine, Watch out Jimmy, Messerschmitts! Run! Germans! No! Steve! Jimmy! No! Aaaah! Aaaah! No!" Carter started screaming again.

"Just as things were getting' interestin'. I was 'oping to find out 'o Snoopy was." Newkirk hopped out of bed and started shaking Carter again. "Wake up, mate! Time to feed Snoopy!" Carter's eyes flew open.

"Snoopy! Oh no! Mom will kill me!"

"That's better." Newkirk smiled down at the confused Carter. Carter looked up at him puzzled.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" Newkirk turned to Kinch and rolled his eyes.

"'E must 'ave 'it 'is 'ead 'arder than we thought." Sighing, he turned back to Carter. "I'm not in your bedroom, Andrew. I'm the good dream fairy. I'm 'ere to take all your bad dreams away and give you good ones. Wha's your favourite thing ta dream about?"

"Oh." Carter pondered this for a moment. His head was throbbing in his ears like a squadron of B-17s dropping a load of bombs, and he felt like he was trying to think through all the noise. Shutting his eyes, he tried not to think. "Mary Jane." He finally answered.

"Mary Jane?" Newkirk asked.

"Yeah. My girl."

"And wha' do ya like to dream about with 'er?"

"Well, that we invent things, and get to explore the states." Carter yawned. "For a dream fairy, you're not very good at this." That wasn't the answer Newkirk, or Kinch were expecting.

"Oh well, sorry. The real dream fairy was unable to make a 'ouse call. 'Ow 'bout ya dream of you an' ya girl creatin' a way to fly all around the states on a magic carpet. And you can 'ave a picnic in the air. Sound nice?"

"Yeah….nice…" Carter mumbled and drifted off to sleep. Kinch's eyebrows rose. He was amazed.

"I'm, I'm impressed. More like stunned."

"Well, I 'ave a little sister. She used ta-"

"Hey dream fairy, mind keeping it down? There are those of us actually trying to sleep here." A voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness.

"Sorry. We can't see ya, so we forgot ya were there." Newkirk announced in return.

"Ok, ok people. Enough. Now everyone go to sleep." Kinch defused the situation before crawling himself back into bed. From the doorway observing the situation, Hogan watched his men crawl back into bed. He felt so helpless watching his newest charge struggle, like all of them had, with the nightmares that accompany life as a POW. Sighing, he returned to his office, pacing as the screams of Carter had brought back his own nightmares of being shot down. Sleep would not be coming tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning was met by groans, moans, and curses. The early light slithering its way in through the shutters and through the men's eyelids. Each man crawling his way out of his lumpy, cold nest in order to ready himself for the daily grind.

Carter on the other hand, stayed put. He, like the others was awake, but was too embarrassed, having realized he had woken the others, not once, not twice, but a total of three times last night because of night terrors. His pride felt shattered. He was scared, homesick, alone, confused, in pain, miserable, and downright upset. Newkirk who had finished dressing and had a cup of coffee from LeBeau in his hand sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk.

"'Ey mate. Want a spot of coffee? Rather, 'ot water with a 'alf a coffee bean 'n it?" Newkirk received no answer. He probed again. "Aw, come-on mate. It ain't all 'at bad. Sure it tastes like dirt, actually dirt probably tastes be'er but, it ain't all 'at bad." He stilled received no reply. "Look. Andrew. Ya don't 'ave to pretend you're asleep. We've all 'ad 'em. Even me. There is a reason I sleep on the bottom bunk. I used ta thrash so much meself, I tossed meself onto this 'ere table. Nearly broke it, I did." Carter immediately sat up and turned around, causing the world to spin.

"You…you did?"

"That's right. I did." Newkirk paused a moment trying to squash his own memories of the first few months of his time there. "But they got better."

"How?" Carter's eyes were wide. They reminded Newkirk of a puppy. He hesitated, he wasn't one for sharing his feelings. That was more for LeBeau, or Kinch.

"Everyone is different. You deal with it in your own way. 'Ow did you deal with it last time-"

"ROLL CALL!" Schultz entered the barracks, banging his hand on the bunk that Carter and Newkirk were sitting on. Carter placed his hand from his good arm on his head. His head was killing him. "Everybody out. Raus! Macht schnell! Raus mit euch! Geh ma', geh ma', geh ma'! _(Out! Hurry up! Everyone out! Go, go, go!)_" Schultz herded them out the door. Newkirk sighed, having his moment stolen just when he was going to get the very answer he wanted. Standing up and setting the "coffees" on the table, he helped Carter off the bottom bunk and towards he door. Schultz stopped them for a moment on the way out.

"Are you okay Sergeant Carter? You look terrible. Your nightmares last night must have been terrible." Schultz's eyes searched the boy's face like a father looking at the well-being of a son. Carter on the other hand turned beet red. Newkirk intervened.

"'E's fine Schultzie. Now we don't wanna miss roll call, right?"

"What? Oh right." Schultz hurried them out the door and took his position left of the group and started counting. Newkirk kept a close eye on Carter, not because he was worried about him being a plant, but rather he was afraid the poor guy was going to fall over. Carter was swaying slightly and cringing his eyes as if to find any last attempt to fight off a total overtake of a massive headache. Hogan also noticed the boy's discomfort, and made a mental note to fetch Wilson immediately after roll call. Roll call however seemed to drag on, and on, and on. Klink, who was in a terrifyingly delightful mood, _I will need to check into that cause of that after fetching Wilson_, Hogan plotted, was gleefully telling the men of the latest propaganda reports, and how the men should feel so fortunate to be at Stalag 13. Tapping his foot, Hogan was going from annoyed, to downright frustrated at the length of Klink's speech.

"-you see, that is why it will be our glorious Germany who in the end will win this war. Now I know that those of you who are Americans may disagree, but Hamburgers really will be your downfall in the end. The latest casualty reports show that because of-"

"Excuse me Herr Kommandant." Hogan had finally had enough.

"Ah, I thought as much. Hogan, I know that you have your American pride and believe that-"

"No, sir, I was just wondering if we could hurry it up a bit, all of us want to get back to reading our copy of Mein Kampf. We were just getting to the good part, where it talks about taking over the universe."

"Oh. I see." Klink was momentarily confused. "I don't remember that part….I should read it again I suppose…." He muttered under his breath, before turning to Schultz. "Na gut. Sind alle die Männer da, Feldwebel Schultz? _(Good. Are all the men there, Sergeant Schultz?)_"

„Ja, olla die Männa sind vorzählig versammelt, Herr Kommandant. _(Yes, all the men are accounted for, Herr Kommandant.)_"

„Gut. Weeeeeggetreten! _(Good. Diiiiiiismissed!)_"

„Dismissed! Geh ma', geh ma', geh ma'! Everyone, back, back, back, back!" Schultz started motioning them back into the barracks, however none of the men were in a rush to be shoved back indoors and were rather enjoying mocking Schultz's "back" by flapping their arms and making clucking "bawk" noises. Hogan managed to slip out in the confusion and make his way over to the men in barracks 9.

"Doc Wilson! Doc!" Wilson turned at the sound of his commander's voice.

"Colonel! Sir! Is there something wrong?" Wilson was always uneasy around his CO. Usually when he approached it was due to some injury that one of the Colonel's main men sustained on a mission outside the fence. Wilson never asked where they went, he felt it wasn't his place, and in the end, it was probably better if he didn't know. Otherwise, Hogan tended to avoid the man like the plague.

"Follow me, we'll talk on the way." Hogan motioned for him to follow back towards barracks 2. "We received a new man yesterday…"

"I heard something about that. Please go on, Sir."

"And he injured himself falling off the top bunk last night, I just want you to take a look at him. He hit his head and arm pretty hard when he fell."

"Alight colonel. I'll see what I can do for him." The two finished the brisk walk in silence, entering the barracks without speaking a word. Wilson easily IDed the new man lying on the bottom bunk near the door. Walking over to him, he took a death breath, and pulled up one of the benches.

"Hey…um…." Wilson quickly realized he forgot to asked Hogan the boy's name.

"Carter." Kinch whispered from behind.

"Carter. My name is Joe Wilson. I was wondering if I could help you with that headache you gotta be feeling about now." Wilson leaned forward, keeping his voice low. Carter rolled over and opened his eyes.

"Does everyone in camp know I fell outta bed?" Carter didn't look Wilson in the face.

"No. But the Colonel asked me to come and check you out. I'm the camp medic. Sergeant Joseph Wilson at your service."

"Oh." Carter was tired, and wanted to go back to sleep, but allowed Wilson to check him over, barely moving through the whole procedure as sleep began to blissfully take over. Wilson sighed as he stood up, walking a few steps over to where Hogan was standing.

"How is he?" Hogan asked, sipping his cup of hot water.

"Fine for the most part. He banged his head pretty good on the trip down, but it should heal in a few days, and he sprained his arm, but other than a few nasty bruises, nothing that won't heal with time…." Wilson got a far off look in his eyes thinking about his own nightmares that still haunt him. Hogan understood Wilson's underlying meaning and the gaze in his eyes. He paused a moment, as both men felt helpless to help the boy.

"Thanks, Wilson."

"I will try and see if I can beg my way into getting us some aspirin. But with the supply lines being cut, and all our medical supplies from Geneva being swiped and sent to Moscow…"

"Just do what you can."

"Yes, sir." With that Wilson slipped out of the barracks and crossed the yard heading towards the Infirmary. Hogan watched him from the window, before being startled out of his thoughts by Kinch.

"What did Wilson say, Colonel?"

"Hu-wha? Oh! Carter will be fine, provided he doesn't fall off a cliff." Hogan sighed. Kinch could tell there was more on his mind than he was letting on, and he felt guilty about what he was going to say next.

"Um, Colonel…"

"Yes Kinch?"

"Perhaps we should talk in your office." The two turned and Hogan led the way into the side room.

"What is it?"

"I got the report from the night radio man." Kinch pulled out a piece of paper. Hogan had completely forgotten about London in the mess with Carter. Usually he got the report first thing in the morning. Unfolding it, he read the message, and immediately slumped into his chair at his desk.

"What would you like to do, sir? Carter is now sleeping directly next to the tunnel entrance."

"Did London say anything about being able to ID the guy?"

"No, Colonel. In fact, these orders came through a contact in Berlin. All communication with London has been terminated until further notice until they can solve their issue with the mole in their intelligence." Kinch stated matter of factly. Hogan was stunned. _No contact with London? At all?_

"They want this done tomorrow tonight?"

"Yes, sir. They said tomorrow tonight is the only night available to grab both the convoy and the train it is meeting up with. The convoy usually drives south to Frankfurt am Main to meet up with the supply train, but with the underground blowing up tracks all over the place, they have re-rooted it to the east, and as a special treat for us, we get to blow up both of them."

"Seems easy enough, as long as we aren't being greedy. Couldn't the underground take this one? I don't mind sharing."

"No sir. The underground in this area is currently working on taking out the theatrical version of Mein Kampf " Kinch leaned against Hogan's bunk. Hogan sighed, before suddenly jumping out of his seat.

"Our explosives! We don't have any explosives!"

"Holy cats! You're right, sir! We used the last of them on the truck with the rocket fuel."

"Uhh! What we need is for London to send us an explosions expert if they want us to keep this up. Otherwise I am quite happy, even with all the good we are doing, to just get the hell out of here and get back home…."

"Colonel….I, I may have an idea….the new kid, Carter,…he….he told me he once blew up his chemistry lab, and that he used to play with this chemistry set…."

"Go on, Kinch."

"Well, sir…he just might be our explosions expert…." Kinch explained to Hogan the conversation that they had had yesterday. Hogan listened with interest, but quickly dismissed the idea.

"I don't like it Kinch. This is exactly the kind of trick I can foresee the Krauts trying to pull on us. Not Klink or Schultz, but it's been a few months since we had a spy in here, and it's about time we are due for another one. But then again, if Carter really is a spy he's the best I've seen. And I have a bone to pick with whoever is toying with our emotions like this." Hogan began to pace. Kinch stepped out of his way, and sat down on the bed. Hogan paused a moment as he realized that in-fact, the last spy they had was the last time Carter had come through, five months ago.

"Colonel, what other choice do we have? Why don't you go and talk to him, give him your usual run-through. Check him out yourself, sir. I honoustly don't believe he is a German spy. No spy would pretend to have nightmares bad enough to throw themselves quite literally out of bed." Kinch pointed out. Hogan thought for a moment, before sighing, and realizing that Kinch was right. It was time to go check out the boy himself.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan took a deep breath, and stepped out into the common room. He found Carter starring up at the ceiling, or rather the underside of Newkirk's current bunk. Sorting out what he had to say, he crossed over to the boy. The rest of the men were out enjoying the afternoon, and so the barrack was empty aside from Carter and himself. Hogan had deliberately delayed speaking with him till they would be alone.

"Hey Carter. At ease." Hogan quickly added as he saw the Carter try and start to get up. "How're you enjoying our resort. It's not much, but we're planning on adding the pool next summer." _Stupid, Robby._ Hogan berated himself. _Of course he is going to say he's not enjoying it. Stupid!_

"I can't say I'm enjoying it very much, sir." Carter sighed closing his eyes momentarily before summing the energy to move himself into a sitting position.

"Well, it takes sometime to get used to." Hogan sat down on the bench across the way from Carter's bunk, and eyed the kid from top to bottom. "So you were stationed with the 321st." He mentioned noticing the insignia. "That's part of the Eighth Air Force, right, in London?" Hogan hoped Carter would correct him, he was not disappointed. Carter looked up, and corrected him, without a second thought.

"Actually it's the Ninenth. And to be honest, Sir, I'm not really sure where our home base is, I wasn't with them all that long. All I know is I was on my way to Africa from England. I think the Army just wanted me as far away from them is possible."

"And why would that be, Carter?" Hogan leaned in, curious.

"Well, you see, Sir, I'm sorta a bad luck charm." Carter hung his head low.

"I see." Both Hogan and Carter were quiet for a moment before Hogan asked his next question.

"The 321st? That's with the XI Bomber Command, isn't it?"

"No, Sir. It's the IX. Gee, I thought everyone knew that….uh, Sir."

"The IX, eh? So, what is Major Campbell up to these days?"

"Major Campbell? I dunno a Major Campbell, there was Captain Campbell, and well I suppose they could be brothers, and he is still working in administration, well I mean he is a secretary of sorts if you know what I mean, but a Major Campbell-" Hogan interrupted Carter's confused babbling.

"Gotcha. So what kind of planes were you flying then? Seventeens? Twenty-fives?-"

"Oh boy! Mitchells! They're great!...Um...Sir." Carter's head lifted up and his eyes lit up. And immediately set into explaining the aircraft. Hogan listened both with interest and amusement.

"So Kinch tells me you're from North Dakota. I've been through there on my way to Colorado." Hogan studied Carter's face as he moved onto his next question. Carter on the other hand got a quizzical look on his face.

"Um, how…how did that work? They aren't anywhere near each other. I mean, granted I wasn't the best at geography, and I know they are both Midwest states, but gee, they aren't anywhere near each other. I mean for starters, North Dakota is well, north, and Colorado is-"

"Okay Carter, I get the picture." Hogan laughed.

"How long have you been in here, Colonel? I mean, it seems you are forgetting things….is that….is that…." Carter got really quiet, and then dropping his head, he spoke just above a whisper, "will that happen to me?" He folded his hands, playing absent-mindedly with his left thumb. The question caught Hogan off guard. He was suppose to be the one drilling him, not the other way around. Searching his mind a moment for an answer. He decided to go with the truth.

"Yes and no. To be perfectly honoust, I knew all the answers to those questions, Andrew." Hogan sighed. Carter looked up suddenly in surprise at the use of his first name. "You'll start to forget some things…and some things you won't. " Hogan shrugged. "But that's just the way time is. You don't forget the important things. And I doubt if the locations of the states will be the first thing to go." He laughed. Carter wasn't quite yet at ease.

"Will we ever get out of here….sir?" Carter tried to hide the fact that he was scared and felt alone. Blinking back the tears of the longest month of his life, he knew what the answer would be. However Hogan took longer than expected in answering.

"What do you think?"

"No. We will never get out."

"And what makes you say that?"

"I've heard that this is the toughest POW camp in all of Germany, Sir." Carter lifted his head, as if to emphasise his next point. "I have!" He looked back at the ground again, and continued to play with his thumb. "And at Basic Training, they told us to try and try and try and escape if captured. Well, just how many people actually, and I mean truly make it all the way out of Germany? I mean to England, or to Switzerland, or someplace safe?" Carter looked Hogan straight in the face. Stunned, Hogan wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well, I'm sure there are a lot more who make it back home than you think."

"Maybe. But I doubt it….uh, sir."

"Perhaps they aren't allowed to talk about who helped them escape. For the safety of the underground members."

"Hey! Maybe that's true! Do you think we could get underground mem…... oh." Carter's hope was suddenly dashed as he realized that there were no underground members coming to their rescue _inside_ the prison camp.

"Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself. How long have you been flying?" Hogan was now starting to head towards the information he wanted.

"Oh, not that long. Actually, it was my first assignment with the 321st."

"Where were you before then?"

"Um….is that an order?"

"What? Oh no. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Hogan was taken aback.

"Thank you, Sir. It's….it's embarrassing."

"So you were shot down over Hamburg?"

"Yes, Sir." Carter got quiet again. As he thought back to the incident. He wasn't even suppose to be close to Hamburg. Instead he was on his way to Africa.

"When were you shot down?"

"Two weeks ago. They took me to a, um, processing type centre. And then to here."

"Is this your first time in a prison camp?" Hogan held his breath for the answer.

"Yeah. And I can't say I'd like to repeat the experience." Carter sighed. Hogan on the other hand just had his world turned sideways. Unsure of how to proceed after that, he was thankful as some of the men started milling in. A few of them, upon seeing their commander sitting next to Carter started to head back out, but after a wave from Hogan, they continued coming in.

"Well if you will excuse me, I, uh, have some things to attend to." With that Hogan walked into this office for some much needed pacing.


	4. Chapter 4

_I applogise for the delay in getting this chapter up. I try to update every couple days, but this week has been very busy with work. So I hope this chapter has been worth the wait! (if nothing else it's long lol!)_

_"Who is Kalinke?" A question that comes up again, and again, and again, and again. She is Klink's housekeeper and mistress. I have a more details about her on my profile if you are interested, but they are not necessary for the story. :)_

_-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-_

Carter watched as Hogan got up and entered his office. The other barracks members were filling in, chatting loudly and joking with each other. He felt as though he would never fit in with the rest of them. Depressing himself even further, Carter layed back down on the bed, and thought about home. He was mid-daydream when he was shooken back to a reality by a door slamming open and a yell from Hogan.

"Andersen! Hey Andersen!" Hogan came bolting out of his office.

"Yes sir?" Andersen spun around.

"Have you seen Newkirk, Kinch, or LeBeau?"

"Yes Sir, Newkirk and Kinch are in the-" Andersen immediately stopped mid sentence and glanced over at Carter, "um, they're uh, checking… for…. moles…" He stated the last part of his sentence carefully. Hogan nodded understanding.

"What about LeBeau?"

"He's… actually I'm not sure where he is, Sir. Have you seen him, Mike?" Andersen turned to his friend.

"I think he's in the mess hall, Sir. Said something to Lefèvre about making some French dish or another." Mike explained to his CO.

"Thanks." Hogan dashed outta the barracks. Both men shrugged being used to Hogan's sudden coming and goings, and went back to getting their laundry ready to wash. Carter listen to the conversation utterly confused. _Moles? Are there moles in Germany?_

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch wiped his brow. And leaned on his spade for a moment. Glancing over at Newkirk and the rest of the men who were equally as tired.

"Why don't we take a 5 minute break guys? I think we earned it." He suggested. A tired mumble agreed, before dispersing. Kinch sighed and dragged his feet down to the radio to see how the current radio man was doing. However before he could reach it, Hogan came running up to him.

"Kinch! Hold up just a second!"

"Colonel! Something I can do for you?"

"Is Newkirk down here?"

"Yeah, he should be down near barracks 3, taking a break. Is something wrong?"

"No nothing is wrong. But you both are having a quick change of profession. You are now going into the cleaning business."

"Colonel?"

"I want you to go and clean Klink's office."

"Didn't Kalinke clean it this morning?"

"Yes, but don't worry, we can mess it up for you. I want Newkirk to break into Klink's filing cabinet. I need to know what is in Carter's file."

"Sir, with all due respect. We've seen those files. There isn't much. Only whatever the interrogator was able to get out of the poor subject."

"Still. I want to see for myself." Hogan led Kinch down the hall. Kinch sighed.

"Alright. Newkirk and I will get cleaned up. How do you plan to untidy Klink's office, may I ask?"

"With gardening of course! LeBeau is going to plant some new flowers." Hogan smiled as he explained his plan. Kink shrugged and went off to find Newkirk to inform him of the plan, while Hogan went to set LeBeau's part in motion.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Klink hummed happily. He was day-dreaming of his dinner with Kalinke coming that evening. Starring at himself in the mirror while straightening his hair back, Klink turned one way and then another, admiring at his own good looks.

"Willi…du bist ein ganz toller Kerl! _(Willi…you are one sexy guy!)_" He admired himself in the mirror.

"Oh I'm sorry, Kommandant, I didn't realize you were on a date." Hogan opened the door and started to back out again.

"Hogan! I am not on a date," Klink spun around annoyed. Hogan shrugged and stepped in, making his way over to the chair to sit down. "But I will be soon. So whatever it is you want to tell me. Don't."

"Alright then." Hogan stood back up and headed back towards the door.

"Wait? That's it?" Klink spun around confused.

"Well, yeah. You just told me to get out. So I am. Have fun on your date, Kommandant." Hogan gave the sloppiest salute he could muster and shut the door behind him. Klink on the other hand was still in the process of confuselly reciprocating as the door closed behind Hogan.

Hogan straightened his jacket and stepped out onto the porch from Klink's office and saw that LeBeau and three of the other men were ready for action, waiting for him down at the bottom of the steps.

"You guys ready to go?" Hogan looked at them as he asked the question more in the form of a statement, they all nodded.

"Oui, mon Colonel. Just tell us when."

"Good. I'm going to go check on Newkirk, so proceed at your leisure." Hogan smiled and unzipped his bomber jacket a bit more as he walked off towards the supply shed. It was getting to be late spring, and the air was warming up nicely.

LeBeau watched him go, and then turned to the men.

"Alright, let's start digging." The four men started digging large amounts of dirt from Klink's garden and throwing it into Klink's open office window. Upon the fifth throw, Klink came storming towards the window.

"You there! All of you stop!" Klink waved his fist menacingly, as another pile of dirt came flying directly into his face. "Schicht im Schacht! _(That's it!)_" Klink came running out of the building. "All of you! All… of… you! In the cooler! Now! Now! Now!" Klink stamped his foot emphasising each word. Hogan walked on over.

"Kommandant, I'm sure they could clean it for you. To learn from their mistake."

"Thank you, Hogan, that won't be necessary. Kalinke can take care of a little dirt. But thank you for your concern."

"At least let them clean up the mess here. Otherwise they'll never learn their lesson."

"You're right, Hogan." Klink agreed bobbing his head up and down. "I'll let them fix the garden, and _then_, they will go to the _cooler_…." Klink marched back into this office. Hogan winked at the men.

"You know what to do." He walked back off. The men immediately started fighting.

"It's your fault!"

"My fault? It's his fault!"

"No it's not, it's your fault!"

"Not true, it's both of yours! I did nothing!" The squabbled continued till one of the men grabbed one of the buckets of water nearby and throw it deliberately into Klink's office through the open window. Soon followed by a second, third, and fourth bucket, till the fifth on was thrown directly into his face as he leaned out the window.

"DAS WAR'S! SCHUUUUUULTZ! _(THAT'S IT!)_" Klink bellowed for the guard while leaning over his opened window.

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!" Schultz came running from across the compound. "Herr Kommandant, warum sind Sie nass? _(Herr Kommandant, why are you wet?)_"

"Schnauze Schultz! Alle diese Männer…in die Arrestzelle..._sofort_ _Schultz! (Shut up Schultz! Alle thse Men… in the cooler…_now_ Schultz!)_"

„Auf jeden Fall, Herr Kommandant! _(Of course, Herr Kommandant!)_" Klink ushered them off. Hogan stepped forward out of the shadows and entered the Kommandant's office.

"Kommandant, just look at your desk, dirt and water everywhere. Why don't you let Newkirk and Kinch take care of that, and you go have a nice pleasant evening with Kalinke? You deserve some relaxation after this ordeal." Hogan slipped his hand into the humidor and took out a handful of cigars. Klink sighed as he turned around completely soaked and slumped into this chair.

"Perhaps you are right, Hogan. I do deserve a night off. This is very stressful work."

"Of course you do. And you do so much for us, you should do something for yourself."

"You're right. I'll take the rest of the afternoon off. Kalinke has been nagging me to take her to a store so she can buy more cleaning supplies. Perhaps we'll do that."

"Kommandant, you are truly the romantic." Hogan rolled his eyes.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- HH- EKvH-

Fifteen minutes later, Newkirk, Kinch, and a man from barracks 47 were in Klink's office. Kinch and Private Abdul Klinger were cleaning while Newkirk searched the records for the one they were looking for.

"Hey, thanks for helping us out with this cleaning job, Klinger."

"Eh, not a problem, I'm used to "clean-up jobs". Livin' in Toledo and all. Heh, this one time, my little nephew, his name is Max, well, we were-"

"Foun' it!" Newkirk cried, interrupting the story.

"Good lets it to the Colonel. You go on ahead, Peter. Chatty here and I will continue cleaning up." Kinch looked up from the floor and rang out the towel.

"Hey did I ever tell about how my father tried to get out of the Army during the Great War wearing hoop skirts?" Klinger finished dusting off the dirt from the top of the filing cabinet.

"No, but I suppose that would explain why you are currently wearing a dress."

"A great Klinger family tradition. And if poor Max ever gets drafted…well, I will give him my closet of clothes." Both Kinch and Newkirk rolled their eyes, before Newkirk crossed the room to make his way over to Hogan's office.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan sighed. Rubbing his eyes he slumped in his chair. He wasn't expecting to see anything in the interrogation reports, and he didn't see anything.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Wha' are you thinkin', Colonel?"

"Well either our minds are finally beginning to snap, or he is lying.

"I can't really say I care for either options."

"Nor do I." Hogan didn't like the idea of feeling helpless. And as every hour went on, he was becoming more and more annoyed with London. "How do you feel about him, Newkirk?"

"Well, I'd say 'e's a righ' ol' chap. Bit green. Bit worse for wear. But I'd say give 'im a month or so, and 'e'll be fine."

"So, one a one to ten kraut scale?"

"I'd give 'im 'bout a two." Newkirk leaned against Hogan's bunk, and played with a cigarette. Hogan rubbed the back of his neck. And began to pace. With a mission right around the corner, and an unknown person sleeping in the barracks, he was stressed. Newkirk noticed the tension begin to build in his CO, and quickly excused himself, as it was moments like this that he knew Hogan preferred to be alone. Sighing audibly as he shut the door behind him, Newkirk watched as Kinch walked back in.

"'Ey Kinch. Can I talk with ya a second."

"Sure thing, Peter. What can I do for you."

"Outside is better. Walls 'ave ears ya know." Newkirk lead him outside. Kinch followed understanding that he was talking about his new bunkie. The two started a slow stroll around the compound, as Newkirk explained to Kinch what was in the report. Kinch stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

"It's not surprising. I mean it's not going to say "SPION _(SPY)_" in big red letters across it, right?" He sighed. "But either he is lying, or maybe he hit his head harder than we thought, amnesia maybe?"

"Ya think 'e's a kraut then?"

"Sure is looking that way. But if he is. I applaud his teacher. Well…actually. What if he is one of ours gone bad, ya know? He could have been sent here to spy on us. It's plausible. I don't like the thought of it though, what it could mean to the operation."

"Wha' do ya think the Colonel is gonna do about 'im and the mission tomorrow night?"

"I dunno, Peter. But if I were him, putting him in the cooler may be the best place. I just don't like the idea of anyone, anyone having to be there intentionally."

"Wha' 'bout, Louis? 'E's in there right now."

"That's different. When he's in there, we don't have to listen to his singing of his French love songs."

"Bloody annoying 'e is." Newkirk mumbled in agreement. The two walked a bit further in silence, before discussing a way to get Carter thrown into the cooler. Kinch crossed his arms.

"I still don't like it. But at least we'll know if he's on the Kraut's side based on how he's treated."

"'Less ol' Klink doesn't know 'e's suppose to be one of 'em."

"Don't depress me, Peter…" Resigning to their decision, the two friends walked back to Barrack 2. Slowly walking over to Hogan's office, Kinch hesitated before knocking. A quiet "come-in" was heard, and both Kinch and Newkirk stepped in. They found Hogan sitting at his desk, starring outside.

"Um Colonel?" Kinch hesitated. Hogan spun around in his chair.

"Sorry. Come-in. I was just thinking about the mission tomorrow night.

"Sir, Newkirk and I were thinking. Would it, would it be easier if Carter was in the cooler?" Kinch let the question hang in the air. Hogan raised both of his eyebrows surprised at the question.

"As a matter of fact, Kinch. It probably would. However that is something I want to discuss with both of you. I want your hypothesis on Carter. We know we had an Lt. A.J. Carter come through here 4 months and 2 weeks ago. I checked our records. We also know that he was picked up by the sub seven weeks later, and made it safely back to England. Now we have a Sgt. Andrew John Carter in our barracks, who claims to have never been in a POW camp before. Hypothesis?"

"Well, Colonel, ol' Kinch 'ere was thinkin' that maybe 'e's gone bad, become one of the krauts or such." Newkirk started. Hogan nodded glumly.

"I suppose it's possible. He could have been recruited either while in England, or during his time in his POW camp. It's been 4 months. Something could have happened between there and now.

"You think 'e crashed on purpose then?"

"I wouldn't go that far, Newkirk, but it's not out of the question. If he did, I wanna know why, and what happened to make him turn spy on his own people. And if he isn't, then I wanna know what happened to his rank. Because we all can't be crazy for remembering him as _Lieutenant_ A. J. Carter…." Hogan noticed Kinch's eyes widen. "What is it Kinch?" Hogan leaned forward.

"Holy Carts! Holy Moly Cats!" Kinch throw his hands on his head in disbelief. "We have the brother!"

"The…brother?"

"Brother?"

"Yes! We have the brother! They must be twins or something! Holy Cats!" Kinch ran for the door , "Sir…!" Kinch quickly turned and added and dashed outta the office. He ran directly over to Carter who was lying on Newkirk's lower bunk, working on trying to write a letter home with his good arm.

"Hey, Carter, Carter!"

"Hi Kinch. Something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. I just have question for you." Kinch sat down on the bunk.

"Alright."

"I know this will seem like a weird question, but um, where is your brother currently stationed?" Kinch held his breath as he waited.

"He's um…well Jimmy….he's..." Carter hesitated, his eyes filled with tears. "He's dead." He whispered. Kinch's mouth dropped open a little.

"Oh…my….oh…. I'm…. I'm so sorry, Andrew. Really I am…I…. I didn't…-."

"It's alright." Carter wiped his eyes with his hand. "Really. He was shot down several months ago." Carter sat his paper and pencil down. "Um, if you'll excuse me, I, um, am gonna go look for moles." Carter got up and exited the barracks. Kinch was baffled. _Moles? Are there moles in Germany besides us? _He shook his head as if to clear it and walked back to Hogan's office feeling dejected.

"What was that all about?" Hogan asked as Kinch re-entered.

"Oh, just following a hunch, Sir. Turns out I'm wrong."

"Wha' was your 'unch, Kinch?"

"That we had the other brother. See, Carter mentioned something about having a brother with the same initials. However it turns out that his brother was killed in action some months ago." Kinch felt horrible for the boy.

"Poor kid…." Newkirk shook his head sadly. Hogan suddenly piped up.

"What a second… when did he say his brother was KIA?"

"Um…'several months ago' those were his exact words, Sir."

"If we had the other brother, as your theory suggests, Kinch," Hogan began pacing, "and the first brother was shot down, imprisoned, and broke out, and used our friendly services, that could add up to several months."

"Wouldn't he have heard if his brother was taken prisoner?"

"You would think so. But the Red Cross is….-"

"THE RED CROSS!" All three of them yelled at once.

"Kinch, get on the horn to the Red Cross pronto!"

"Sir…evening roll call…"

"Alright, radio them as soon as Klink is gets through telling us why today's top American favourite pastime or food will help them win the war."

"Oh I do so 'ope it's American football today, sports are my favourite version of these speeches…" Newkirk followed Kinch out of the office. Hogan began pacing again. _I hope Kinch is right, and we have the other brother…._


	5. Chapter 5

_A quick side note for those who do not know. In the German version Newkirk has a severe stutter. I have tried to respect and incorporate that in this story, and it comes up in this chapter._

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Once again Hogan was impatiently wanting for roll call to end. He kept sighing and starring at his watch as Klink droned on about how the Allies will lose the war because Germany has a rich heritage of music and science. As he was talking, Klink couldn't help but notice Hogan's impatience. He walked over and stood directly in front of him.

"Colonel Hogan, I do so hope that I am not boring you." Klink smiled, shifting his weight on between his toes and heels.

"Actually Kommandant. You are."

"Oh good. I would so hate for you to take nothing away from my speech."

"Kommandant. In the year that I have been a prisoner here, I have never taken away anything from your speeches."

"Hogan, if you find my speeches boring, I can gladly excuse you….with a trip to the _cooler_…." Klink threatened.

"By all means, Kommandant. I prefer the sound of my teeth chattering to the noise of your speeches." Hogan rolled his eyes, only half paying attention to the conversation.

"Schuuuuuuultz!"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant! Was konn i' für Sie tun? _(What can I do for you?)_"

„Schultz! Der Hogan mag 'nen Besuch in der Arrestzelle. _(Hogan would like a trip to the cooler.)_"

„Wirkli', Herr Kommandant? ‚As is' da Hogan, gell? Und i' dacht', dass- _(Really, Herr Kommandant? That's Hogan, right? And I thought that-)_"

"Schnauze Schultz! Der Hogan….in die Arrestzelle...SOFORT! _(Shut-up Schulz! Hogan...in the cooler...NOW!)_"

„Zur Befehl Herr Kommandant! _(Of course, Herr Kommandant!)_" Schultz led Hogan away. It took Hogan a minute for realize what had just happened. Either Klink was learning how to play, or he was slipping. Either way, ending up in the cooler was not want he had intended. The rest of the men watched as Schultz led Hogan away. Glancing at each other confused, and chalking it up as part of Hogan's plan. Just what the plan was, was beyond their comprehension.

"Now. Where am I?"

"Germany!" A voice yelled. "Soon to be the newest territory of the United States!" All the men broke out laughing.

"Quiet! Or you'll join your Colonel Hogan in the cooler! Now, ah yes, now this jazz music all of you so like, is another reason that you will loose the war." Klink began pacing in front of the different barracks-lines again. "Classic German music like Beethoven and-" Klink continued his speech. By the time he ended and dismissed the prisoners, they were all sore from standing on their feet so long.

"A bloody politician in the makin'…" Newkirk walked into the barracks, slightly limping as he tried to keep the weight off his feet, "I 'aven't stood soon long in one place since I waited in line to see the first television in Selfridges…" Newkirk sat down and started rubbing his feet.

"What's television?" Carter asked coming in through the door.

"It's 'is invention of some Scotsman. Bloody brilliant really. It'll never catch on though."

"Oh." Carter sat down on Newkirk's bottom bunk. Kinch sat down next to him.

"How're you feeling, Andrew?"

"Fine I suppose." He shrugged. "Um, Wilson? I think that's his name. I'm not really good with names. Came by and gave me some more aspirin."

"Good." Kinch smiled warmly, before getting up and motioning Newkirk to follow him into Hogan's office.

"Newkirk." Kinch spun around. "After lights out, I want you to contact the Red Cross."

"Alright, Kinch. Are you sure you don' wanna do it? You know the radio better 'an any man 'ere."

"It might be suspicious if Carter has another off night and I'm not here to fill in for Colonel Hogan."

"Alright. I'll sneak over to the quarters of our beloved Chefin (1), and down into the tunnels from there."

"Alright. Lemme know what they say when you get back." Newkirk nodded in agreement and slipped back into the common room. Kinch sighed and sat down at the desk in Hogan's room, leaning his head on his right hand and playing mindlessly with a pencil from the desk in his left. He was trying to figure out why Hogan deliberately got himself thrown into the cooler. Shaking his head he couldn't figure it tout. Throwing the pencil down and standing up, he paced a little before he feet started to complain again, and coming to the decision that he would wait till Newkirk came back before he visited the Colonel, that way he could bring the good…or bad, news.

As Kinch walked out into the common room a while later, he was glad to see Newkirk and Carter in a conversation, and he headed over to see if he couldn't quietly eavesdrop as he poured some hot water for himself.

"-oh no, golly, we've been in America forever. I'm the first, well, aside from my brother and father, and uncle, to set foot outside the country in gee, a long time."

"You're father an' uncle left the states?"

"Well yeah, they were both in the Great War."

"Me ol' da was in 'at one too. Bunch a rubbish that war."

"Yeah. Well most wars are. Which is why you just gotta make the best of it. That's what my mom always said. Turn limes into limeade."

"Don't ya mean lemons into lemonade?"

"I don't think so…anyways, what did you do before the war, Newkirk? You must have done something."

"I…well… it's not important. W'at did ya do?"

"Well, I was going to school, but then the war started, and I figured since everyone else was joining, I should join too."

"You're bloody jokin'."

"Oh no, you see, the way I figured is if I was one of the first people over here, I would be one of the first people back, you know, before it got too crowded, and I wanted to come over before it was over too, and-"

"Okay, Carter. I get it."

"Oh. How did you join?"

"They found me 'iding under me bed."

"Really? They did?"

"Yeah, an' took three Bobbies to drag me away… no Carter. Blimey! I was forced to enlist like everyone else." Newkirk shook his head. Kinch was just about to walk over when Schultz entered into the Barrack and turned off the light, ordering everyone to bed. Resigning to what would be another long night, Kinch sat down the cup next to his bunk, and got ready to climb in. Watching Newkirk climb up onto the top bunk, they nodded at each other. Kinch closed his eyes, and attempted to drift off to sleep.

"Newkirk heard his Bunkie's breathin begin to slow and become regularized. Sliding off the bunk, Newkirk slipped his boots back on.

"Mooommm….thaaaat youuuu?" Carter asked with his eyes still closed.

"No Andrew, it's a good dream fairy again. You go back to sleep now." Newkirk finished tying his left boot.

"Mmmmkay…." Carter rolled over. Newkirk slipped out of the barracks. Kinch watched him go, and rolled over on to back, staring at the ceiling.

Newkirk slipped and played hide and seek with the searchlights before he entered Klink's flat. Tiptoeing across the floor, he briefly paused, considering writing a few choice phrases on Klink's head, but deciding against it (as he lacked a fountain pen), and decided he should better precede to the radio. Climbing down the ladder it didn't take him long reach it. It was as he was picking up the radio that he realized, the British Red Cross would be closed for the evening. _Of course, you Berk. If it's nearly 10 at night 'ere, England's only an 'our earlier. Bleedin' brilliant._ Newkirk leaned back in the chair. _'Ey wait a bleedin' minute, the States is earlier…._ Newkirk grabbed the radio and began to ring London.

"Mama Bear this is Goldilocks. Mama Bear this is Goldilocks. Please come in. Over." Newkirk paused, and waited a minute, before he repeated.

"I repeat, Mama Bear this is Goldilocks. Please come in, Mama Bear. Over." Still no response. "Bloody 'ell Peter! Of course they won't respond!" Newkirk cranked the radio again, before calling their contact in Berlin. "T-T-Till E-E-Eulens-s-spiegel hier ist G-G-Goldlöckc-c-chen. Till Eulens-s-spieg-g-gel h-h-hier ist Goldlöckchen. B-B-Bitte k-k-kommen. _(T-T-Till E-E-Eulens-s-spiegel, this is G-G-Goldilocks. __Till Eulens-s-spieg-g-gel this is Goldilocks. Please come in.)_" Newkirk took another deep breath. "T-T-Till Eulenspiegel. B-B-Bitte kommen. Hier i-i-ist G-G-Goldlöckchen, bitte a-a-antw-w-worten. _(T-T-Till Eulenspiegel. P-P-Please come in. This i-i-is G-G-Goldilocks, please a-a-ans-s-swer.)_" Newkirk paused again. "Bist du d-d-da o-o-oder nicht? _(Are you th-th-there o-o-or not?)_" He asked annoyedly and loudly. Finally a older man voice could be heard on the line.

"Ja ja ja. Ich bin's. Was ist schon los, Goldlöckchen? Over. (2) _(Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm here. __What's goin' on, Goldilocks? Over.)_"

„Finally! Ich m-m-meine... bitte T-T-Tillie, kannst du m-m-mir z-z-zum American Red Cross v-v-verbinden? Over. _(I m-m-mean...please T-T-Tillie, can you c-c-connect m-m-me t-t-to the American Red Cross? __Over.)_"

„Sicher. Moment mal. Aber zu erst, wie geht's die Kalinke? _(Of course. Just a moment. __But first, how's Kalinke?)_"

„Gut. N-N-Nun, die V-V-Verbindung? Over. _(Good. N-N-Now, the connection? Over.)_"

"Tja, schon gut. _(Oh, alright.)_" Newkirk heard him set the radio down and pick up another. A moment later Tillie's voice was heard back on the radio.

"Ich hab's. _(I have 'em.)_"

"G-G-Gut, b-b-bitte, frag ob s-s-sie die Akten für Lieutenant A.J. Carter h-h-haben. A wie A-A-Anton, und J w-w-wie Josef. Over. _(G-G-Good, p-p-please ask if th-th-they h-h-have the records for Lieutenant A. J. Carter. A as in A-A-Alpha, and J as i-i-in Juliet.)_" Newkirk asked and held his breath. Till Eulenspiegel picked up the second radio and asked the question.

"Sind Sie noch da? Ja? Frag das ARK ob sie 'ne Akten für Lieutenant A.J. Carter hab'm. A wie Anton, und J wie Josef. Over. _(Are you still there? Yes? Ask the ARC if they have the records for Lieutenant A. J. Carter. A as in Alpha, J as in Juliet. Over.)_" He waited for a response.

„Moment mal. _(Just a moment.)_" The man on the other end of the radio reported, before picking up his radio and relying the message. "American Red Cross? Yes, the message we have for you is do you have a file for a Lieutenant A.J. Carter? A as in Alpha, J as in Juliet. Over." The radio middleman waited.

"A Lieutenant A.J. Carter? What unit was he with ? Over." The Red Cross worker asked grabbing a pencil.

"Um…I'm not sure. One moment please. Over." The middle man picked back up the other radio. "Noch da? Bei welcher Militäreinheit war er? Over. _(Still there? __What unit was he with? Over.)_"

"Ähm…nich' sicha, Momen' mal, frag' ich. _(Um…not sure, just a sec, I'll ask.)_" Tillie set down the radio and picked up the set connected with Newkirk.

"Goldlöckchen? Bei welcher Militäreinheit wa' der Carter? _(Goldilocks? What unit was Carter with?)_" Newkirk listened to the question, before realizing, he didn't actually know the answer.

"Tja…w-w-weiß ich n-n-nicht. Muss ich ‚n-n-ne g-g-geben? Over. _(Well…I d-d-dunno. Do I have to g-g-give o-o-one?)_" He asked, the question snaking its way through the multiple receivers before bouncing back to him.

"Yes." The American Red Cross stated. "But if you can wait a few weeks, we can see what we can do without one. We just need to know as much information as possible to help expedite the process." Newkirk sighed upon hearing the news, and tried to think back to his conversation with Carter, and the information Kinch was able to get out of him.

"I know he is from Bullfrog, North Dakota. And has one brother named Andrew. I'm not sure on the brother's middle name. And was shot down some time ago."

"What does the A.J. stand for?"

"I believe the J stands for Jim."

"And the A?"

"I don't remember."

"When was he shot down?"

"Um, I'm not sure. But 'e made it back to England 11 weeks ago."

"Well I'm afraid I can't promise anything. We have thousands of names here, and hundreds still yet to process. However I will let you know if I find anything within the next few weeks." The Red Cross women told Newkirk through his contacts. She felt terrible for not being able to help him further, but without more information there wasn't much she could do. Newkirk thanked her, and instructed her on how to reach him, if she happened across more information, before signing off.

Feeling frustrated Newkirk banged his hand on the table, immediately regretting doing so, as now his hand hurt. Walking back through the tunnels, he slipped out of Klink's personal flat, and back to his barrack.

Sneaking in through the door, he stumbled across both Olsen and Kinch kneeling next to a sleeping Carter, who was still mumbling in his sleep. Curious Newkirk walked over.

"Shhh. Newkirk. Listen." Kinch whispered from somewhere in the dark. Although Newkirk couldn't see it that well, Olsen and Kinch leaned in close to Carter's ear.

"Kannst du das Gedicht noch mal wiederholen, Junge? _(Can you repeat the poem again, lad?)_" Olsen whispered.

„'Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind. Er hat den'... (3)" Carter recited the entire poem in his sleep. Olsen looked at both Kinch and Newkirk. Newkirk wasn't convinced. Kneeling with the others at the foot of the bed, Newkirk tried testing the boy for himself.

"H-H-He J-J-Junge. Verstehst d-d-du m-m-mich? _(H-H-Hey mate. Do y-y-ou understand m-m-me?)_"

„Jaaaa-'eah-neiiiiinooo..." Carter started fidgeting.

"Wo h-h-hast du denn D-D-Deutsch gel-l-lernt? _(Where d-d-did you –l-l-learn G-G-German?)_"

„School."

„In der S-S-Schule? B-B-Bist d-d-du Deutscher? _(In s-s-school? A-A-Are y-y-ou German?)_"

„Nein. No. Amerikaner. Carter, Andrew, Sergent 02763350…." Carter's eyes suddenly flashed opened. Although he didn't see Newkirk, Olsen, or Kinch. Carter's expression was one of sheer terror, as he started screaming.

"NEIIIN! NO NO NO! I don't know anything! Schweinehund! Lassen Sie mir in Ruhe! Ich weiß gar nichts! Aaaaaaaah! No! No! I haven't done anything wrong! Nichts! _(Bastard! Leave me alone! I don't know anything! Aaah! No! No! I haven't done anything! Nothing!) _" Carter continued to scream and thrash. Newkirk leaned over and started shaking him.

"'Ey! Break outta it! Andrew! Andrew!"

"Huh…what? Oh…." Carter felt his cheeks hotten. "Sorry, I'll go back to sleep."

"Look Andrew. It's okay. Do you want to talk about it?" Kinch asked. Carter shook his head.

"Tja, ich geh wieder ins Bett. _(Well, I'm goin' to bed.)_" Olsen started to stand up.

"Gute Nacht. _(Good night.)_" Both Kinch and Newkirk chimed. Carter looked up at them confused.

"What did you just say?"

"Oh knock it off Andrew. The jig is up. We know you can speak German." Newkirk crossed his arms as he starred at Carter.

"I….what?" Carter sat up feeling slightly dizzy, cradling his arm, and faced them both from his position on the bed.

"It's true, Carter. We heard you." Kinch starred at him coldly.

"I…can… speak… German….?" Carter said loudly, astonished. "Gee this is great! I haven't spoken German since I was a kid!" His face brightened.

"Say again?" Kinch was confused.

"Don't you see?" Carter jumped off the bed. "My grandma was….well…..she spoke it. And I'd forgotten it all. But if I was mumbling German, this is fantastic!" Carter was truly excited. Kinch looked at Newkirk who shrugged.

"I'm goin' to bed." Newkirk climbed up to the top bunk.

"Hey Newkirk. Since I haven't thrown myself outta bed tonight. Do you want your bottom bunk back tomorrow?" Carter asked.

"Yeah. Only if you're not gonna 'urt yourself. If ya feel ya need a while longer, that's right by me."

"Thanks Peter. You're a good friend." Carter yawned and layed back down. Kinch who had crawled back into bed was tired and confused by what just happened. He figured it would make more sense in the morning.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The next morning the entire barracks avoided Carter like he was poison Ivy. Neither speaking to him, or outwardly engaging in any way. Each man was processing over what had happened the night before. Carter on the other hand was overjoyed that he had been mumbling in German, but was feeling embarrassed and hurt by the lack of outward friendship.

"Hey Kinch, can I um, I mean, what I was wondering…can I speak to you a moment?" Carter hesitated, and waited while Kinch who was finishing brushing his teeth to answer.

"Alright Carter." Kinch finished washing off his toothbrush, and turned to face Carter. He neither smiled, or frowned at the boy. "We can talk in the Colonel's office." The two headed in to the office. Carter played absent mindedly with his fingers.

"Well…um….I'm, er not sure how to put his, but uh…I would like to escape." He starred at the floor, while Kinch looked him over from top to bottom.

"Escape? No one escapes from Stalag 13." Kinch stated in a flat tone, crossing his arms.

"I know….I mean that's what I heard. But….well,…you see….I have this girl back home ya know, and well I wanna get my service done as soon as possible so I can get back to her, ya see? And being locked up isn't helping that. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, is there an escape plan? Can I get outta here?" Carter looked up and looked Kinch in the face. His face suggested honestly, but Kinch wasn't ready to bite just yet.

"Look. Andrew. I can't help you. We all want to get home. But that's not possible. So if you excuse me, I wanna finish getting ready before morning roll call."

"Yeah. Okay, Kinch." Carter starred down at his boots.

(1) German for Female Boss. Every once in a while in the show they call Klink this.

(2) Yes „over" is an English word, instead of „Ende", but since they use it in the series, I went with it.

(3) Erlkönig by Goethe. It's a famous poem that a lot of school children have to memorize, including me.


	6. Chapter 6

_Just a quick update, I will try and post more again soon. _

_***IMPORTANT*** There is something revealed in this chapter that propbably the majority of viewers do not know (English/German/French/etc). I certainly missed it the first few times I watched it. And nearly fell off my bed (I uh, don't own a sofa) when I caught it this last time. So please don't put me on Fanfic trial! hehe! It IS in Cannon! And will be explained at the end! And when I find the direct quote (which I am searching for, I just don't remember what episode) I will upload it. _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

It was immediately after Klink dismissed the men, that Kinch walked straight over to the Kommandant, as the Kommandant started walking back over to this office.

"Colonel Klink, Sir? I would like to make a request to see Colonel Hogan, sir."

"Colonel Hogan. Sorry not possible." Klink turned and continued walking.

"Sir, please. I'm new at filling in his roll. I need to make sure I have all my duties covered, that way the men don't rebel, and start a riot, and-"

"Alright! Five minutes, but that is all. Now dismissed!" Klink stormed up the steps and straight into his office. Smiling for the first time in a couple days, Kinch rushed over to the cooler. Where he found Hogan lying on the bunk starring at the ceiling.

"Colonel?"

"Hey Kinch." Hogan sat up and walked over to the barred door. "How is the outside world? Did I miss anything from Klink's speech this morning?"

"No, sir. He just went on about cricket today. Quite humorous really with Newkirk's comments thrown in. How are you and LeBeau holding up?"

"Nice of you to care, mon Ami!" LeBeau's voice floated sarcastically down the echoy hall.

"Fine, except LeBeau keeps singing."

"It is traditional French love songs!" LeBeau yelled. Kinch snickered.

"Anyways sir, I have an update on Carter." Kinch filled him in up to that point. Hogan started pacing. Kinch waited quietly for his answer.

"He's outta here. I don't want him here. There is too many questions floating around him. As soon as I get out, I will arrange with our local travel agent for him to be sent elsewhere. In the meantime, I'm not sure how long Klink wants to keep both LeBeau and myself locked up here, but we need to figure out the mission tonight. I want you to talk to the men in barrack 11 about possibly helping us out. I know that Thompson wanted a chance to come out with us."

"Of course, Colonel."

"Also, keep questioning Carter. There is something there that doesn't fit with me."

"Alright."

"And assign a team to finish expanding the tunnel to the cooler. I wanna a way to get outta here if need be."

"I'll get right on that."

"Oh and Kinch, one more thing."

"Yes, sir?"

"Bring me something to plug my ears with."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch re-entered the barrack and motioned for Newkirk and Olsen to walk with him to Hogan's office.

"You really think he's a threat then?" Olsen asked curiously.

"If the Colonel thinks so, than whom I am to argue?" Kinch shook his head.

"It's just…. Carter's not a German."

"He…what?" Kinch raised his eyebrows surprised.

"Wha'? Wha' do ya mean, 'e's not a German?" Newkirk stood up straight from leaning against the bunk bed and looked straight at Olsen."

"I'm serious. Everything about his speak suggests that he is American."

"Are you positive, Olsen?"

"I'm staking my life on it, aren't I?"

"My life as well, mind you." Newkirk crossed his arms. Kinch pondered a moment before speaking.

"Alright this is what we are going to do. Newkirk you go down into the tunnel and work with the diggers. Olsen, you continue to question Carter, I'm going to go talk to barrack 11." The three nodded in agreement and then set upon their tasks. Kinch walked straight over to Barrack 11, to set up the team for that night's mission. He only hopped that Colonel Hogan would be out in time to be apart.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

It wasn't until after dinner that night that the three of them met back up in Colonel Hogan's office. All feeling disgruntled that the mission that night would be a failure. Kinch was the first to speak. While he still wasn't used to be in the position of leader, it was coming easier with time and practice. He looked both men in the face before he spoke.

"I talked with Thompson, Bailey, and Williams. All three will be taking our place tonight on the mission, save for you, Olsen." Kinch looked at Olsen. "You still know this area better than any of us, and you speak it like a native."

"Hmm, not sure whether or not that's an insult…" Olsen smiled.

"As for the explosives. Well….that is indeed a problem. We have some gunpowder from a few bullets, and Wilson says he still has some nitroglycerine in the infirmary."

"Do we have any magnisium?" Olsen asked.

"We do, but it's in the dirt from all our digging. And the problem is we don't have the equipment to separate it into its pure form."

"Oh yeah…" Olsen suddenly remembered the had a conversation concerning that exact topic almost a year ago when they started digging the tunnels.

"Do we have any sodium?" Olsen asked again.

"'Course we do, mate," Newkirk rolled his eyes, "it's called salt."

"Hey, I'm just thinking outloud here. I don't see you coming up with any ideas, Peter."

"I'm thinkin' alrigh'!" Newkirk answered facing him.

"That's enough!" Kinch throw his hands up in the air. "Newkirk. Go take a walk."

"Look, Kinch…"

"Take a walk, and collect bullets from the guards."

"Oh. Well, when ya put it 'at way…"

"Olsen. You go get the Moreau brothers and start preparing for when Newkirk returns with the bullets."

"Alright Kinch. Do you want me to save the shells, so he can return them?"

"Yes. We can't have Schultz suspecting any "funny business". Now go!" Kinch sighed as he watched them both leave, rubbing his forehead after they left. If there is one thing he didn't like. It was giving orders. He much perfered to treat people like equals.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The next hour seemed to drag on slower than anything that Kinch had ever expirenced before. He nervously figited down in the tunnels at the raido waiting for the team to finish with their respective projects and reassemble. Most of all, he was still hoping that Colonel Hogan would show up. He was finding it hard to believe that Klink still had him in the cooler. Rechecking his equipment for the zillenth time in five minutes, the last member of the group showed up, and Kinch preceeded to explain the nights events.

"-only Olsen from our barracks will be coming-"

"See Colonel is steel in see coolar?" The older of the two Moreau brothers asked.

"Yes. Klink has never kept him in there this long for something so trivial. It must be part of his good mood he has been in."

"'Einrich." Newkirk answered, carefully reassembling one of the bullet shells from which the powder had been taking out of.

"Heinrich? (1)" Kinch asked.

"Yeah. 'Is son. 'E is coming for a visit." Everyone looked at him with faces ranging from utter surprise to downright skeptasism. "Wha'? Am I the only one 'ere 'ho knew 'bout this?"

"He….has a…son?" Kinch repeated utterly astonished.

"Yeah."

"Our bald eagel….has a son….?"

"Yeah."

"Oh!" Kinch was thrown off for a moment. "Anyways. So you three," he looked at Thompson, Bailey, and Williams, "will leave tonight around midnight and meet the convey here." He pointed to the map. "It is best to lay the explosions here, here, and here. Take special care not to get caught. Follow Olsen's lead."

"Understood, Kinch."

"Right, Kinch."

"I'm in charge?" Olsen asked.

"Correct."

"If only Mrs. Aster could see me now." Olsen grinned at the thought.

"That's it. Olsen, report to me when you return. Otherwise, finish up here, and get back upstairs for evening roll call. Hurry though. We only have about 20 minutes left." Kinch started back towards the ladder, leaving the rest of the men to work.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Olsen shiften his weight on his bunk, causing it to gently squeek. Glancing at his watch again, he noted that there was only five more minutes until he had to leave to meet up with the rest of the team. Trying to mental prepare himself, he concentrated on trying to get his mind back into a German Language mindset, and calm his breathing in order to clear his mind. Looking down at his watch again, he still had three mintues to go before he could risk leaving. Suddenly, he heard a bunk from across the room squeek and rattle. Someone was getting up. Propping himself on his elbows, Olsen peered into the darkness. It was hard to tell, but it was either Newkirk or Carter, since they were going to, or had switched bunks, Olsen couldn't remember, he didn't know which one. Following the figure with his eyes, he watched the man, finish pulling on his boots, and open the door. It was Carter. He looked right, then left, and then right again, before stepping out. Olsen glanced at his watch again. One minute to go.

(1) _Before everyone jumps on me here. Klink in fact DOES have a son. They mention him in Season 6. His name is Heinrich. Although, I will need to double check if he is in the English version…. I tried really hard to find the exact episode where they mention him, sadly he is only mentioned once in a conversation between Hogan and himself. And I don't remember what episode that was in, or what else the conversation was about….so if anyone remembers can you let me know, so I can cite this properly?_


	7. Chapter 7

Cater stepped out into the chill spring night. He wrapped his arms more around himself and continued his trek to the laterine. He wasn't more than three metres away when a searchlight found him and he heard guards running. Throwing up his hands terrifyed he started screaming.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Um! Um! Nicht Schießen! Nicht Schießen!" Langenscheidt was the first guard to reach Carter, followed far behind by a huffing Schultz.

"Was machen Sie denn hier? Alle die Gefangene müssen in den Baracken sein. _(What are you doing here? All the prisoners must be in their barrackses."_" Langenscheidt spoke softly and kept his gun lowered, trying not to scare Carter more than he was. After all they were about the same age. Carter looked at him and was about to reply when Schultz finally finished huffing up to the two.

"I' mach''s, i' spre' bessa Englisch ols Sie, gell. _(I'll take care of it, I speak better English then you, alright.)_" Schultz turned towards Carter.

„Englisch vielleicht...Deutsch „nix (1) _(English maybe...German no.)_" Langenschdiedt rolled his eyes and snickered quietly.

„Carter, what are you doing out of bed? You should be sleeping, and dreaming of struuuuudel…." Schultz sighed as he thought of the way strudel tasted.

"I will, um Mr. Guard. But I need to use the latrine first."

"Please, Schultz. Everybody calls me Schultz. Even my mother. Although…I do not know why."

"Um…okay….Schultz." Carter walked towards the latrine. Although he did not see it, Bailey had used him as a distraction in order to sneak under the dog kennel, and into the tunnel to meet up with Olsen and Thompson.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter stretched as he was coming out of the latrine. Now that the guards knew he was out there, instead of keeping their search lights directly focused on him, they apparently were passing directly over. As he started across the compound, he saw another figure moving quickly, using the shadow as a cover. Keeping a slow, but steady pace towards the barracks, Carter followed him with his eyes. The follow, obviously a prisoner, Carter assumed, based on the way he was moving, moved quickly, without detection towards the dogs. Carter watched in awe, as he opened the pin, stepped in, and lifted up one of the kennels. _An_ _escape route! They have an escape route! I can get outta here!_ Carter quickened his pace, moving towards the dog pin, keeping his eyes pealed for signs of trouble, he walked up to it, sure the dogs were going to start barking at him. Instead they started wagging their tags, and jumped on him the moment he opened the gate. Carter smiled happily. He hadn't been smothered in dog kisses since he had left home. Lifting up the same kennel, he crawled into the tunnel.

The first thing that hit him was the smell. It was a dank, musty, sweaty, and burnt candle smell; oddly mixed with something that smelled of sulphur. The next was how dark it was. Even though he had been walking in the dark, it took his eyes a moment to adjust, even then it was near impossible to see. The only light was coming from way down at the other end of the tunnel hallway. Carter blindly walked towards it. He felt immediately chilled from being underground.

"-couldn't find my scarf in the dark. I didn't miss anything did I?" A voice echoed down the tunnel.

"No, we were just reviewing, and making sure everyone knows their part." Another voice echoed. It sounded almost distorted. Carter continued towards the light, skidding a few times on some water that had dripped onto the tunnel floor.

"Do you need anymore shoe polish?"

"Nah, if I add anymore, no one will see me at night for a week."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Carter continued to follow the voices. He was so confused as to what was going on. When he finally reached the light, he turned right into the room. Looking around, there were two candles lit in small medal containers sitting next to a radio. _A radio! There's a radio!_ Carter glanced around. There was no one there. Yet the candles were burning, a book was open, and there was still part of a piece of bread. _Maybe if I hurry I can contact….._Carter realized there was no one to contact. No one could help him-

"Can I help you?" Carter spun around at the voice.

"Um…no, no…just uh…looking…looking, a…around." Carter managed to sputter.

"Alright. I taken you've talked to the Colonel then. You're that new guy right?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so."

"'Yeah, guess so' which?" The guy Carter was talking to laughed. Carter noticed he was wearing what looked like to corporal stripes.

"I mean, I guess I'm the new guy. And of course I've talked to Colonel Hogan." Carter laughed confused. Of course how could he not talk to him? He lived with him didn't he?

"That's good. Otherwise I'd have to shoot you now." The sergeant laughed warmly. Carter laughed politely. "First time in the tunnel then, eh?"

"Um, yeah…."

"Tell you what, I'm not suppose to leave my post. But seeing we are on radio silence with London anyways, I suppose I can give you a brief tour." The man got up from the chair at the radio where he had gone and sat down, and shook Carter's hand. "I'm Sewell Binnie. I know, terrible name. Call me Sparky, everyone does."

"Um okay….Sparky…I'm Andrew Carter." Sparky fumbled with one of the candles, picking it up and started to lead Carter out of the tunnel.

"So I'm surprised to see you down here. Well, I mean, I guess not really, since the Colonel usually takes everyone around, or Kinch does. Say, hey, where is ol' Kinch-o? He does know you are down here doesn't he?"

"Um, well, actually…."

"Wanted to see it before he could show it to ya, eh? Yeah I understand. It's a beaut' ain't it? A real beaut' of a tunnel, ain't she?" Sparky, looked up and down the darkness in satisfaction. Carter had absolutely no idea what he was looking at, since he couldn't see at thing.

"You…you won't tell Kinch then?"

"Ah, naaaah. Though….it woooould help if my memory had incentive…"

"I lost my comic books when I got captured."

"You had comics with you?"

"Well yeah, I mean there was room, and I always figured if I did get captured, which as you can see I did, I mean you're standing right next to me, and we are in a POW camp, that well, then in that case, which is this case it would be nice to have them ya know, since I had heard that-"

"Kid, never mind, those comics ain't the only things ya lost." Sparky shook his head amused. "Well, follow me." He lead Carter to the right back in the same hallway Carter had come in, and rounded a corner to the left, they zigzagged and walked through what appeared to Carter to be absolute darkness. He could see every once in a while what looked to be over sections of tunnel leading off to the sides, but it was hard to tell where exactly they lead. "Here kid, this is the heart of our tunnel." Sparky spread his arms out as to show how utterly amazing it was. All Carter saw was some more darkness.

"It's uh, great."

"Ain't it? And to think! Only a year ago this was all dirt. Amazing what people can do when they put their minds to it, and the Colonel is in charge."

"Uh…yeah. Say, where exactly are we standing?"

"Standing? Why boy, we are in the counterfeiting room! We have to pay for the operation somehow! And over here," he lead Carter to the next room, "is where we make all the pistols! Although, I wouldn't shoot any of them, we are still sorting out which are real and which are the cigarette lighters. Long story there."

"Cigarette lighters?"

"Yeah, kid. I was captured afterwards, but apparently they had been making pistol-shaped cigarette lighters for a while. They are identical to a Luger, 'cept well, one shoots and one doesn't. Be one hell of a way to get a smoke though!"

"Yeah…."

"Well I need to get back to the radio, though, if you walk back with me, I'll show you the changing room. Did the Colonel talk to you yet about your strengths?"

"My strengths?"

"Yeah, ya know, which is your best ya know, strength. Whatcha good at."

"Oh. Chemistry I guess. Well you see, I-"

"Chemistry?"

"Yeah well, you see-"

"Can you make bombs?"

"Can I? Can I? I once blew up my school!"

"Kid, come with me! Quickly!" Sparky grabbed Carter's arm, dragging him off into the darkness. Carter was so turned around that he could have been in China and not have known it.

"Look here. This is our little lab, it isn't much."

"This is a lab? It's half a table."

"Well, court-martial me. We haven't had an explosives expert before."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not an explosives expert, though I am pretty good with chemicals, I mean, I've been studying and I would really like to-"

"Shut up for a moment, kid. Look, can you make us a couple bombs, in order to blow up a convey?"

"Blow up a convey? What?"

"Right now? Can you?"

"I….I su-suppose….? Why do you want to blow up a convey? Whose convey?"

"What exactly _did_ the Colonel say to you about our operation?"

"Operation?"

"Yes."

"Not much?" Carter wasn't sure what to say. Sparky immediately cursed and smacked the table.

"How did you get down here?"

"I followed a guy, I thought he was escaping." Carter shrugged. He had no idea what was going on. Sparky on the other hand started ranting a soliloquy that Carter was unable to follow. Sparky suddenly stopped, spun around and got really close to Carter, his face was centimetres away from Carters. He looked him dead on.

"Okay, Carter. You do this for me, and I'll do something for you. You see these chemicals we have here? It's not much. And we don't have much materials. I want you to make three bombs. Three." He held up his fingers for emphasis. "Sufficient enough to take out a convey. And I want you to do it now. You do this for me, and I will save your neck from the Colonel when he finds out you were down here."

"Why do I need to do it right now?"

"Because four men are out here now on a suicide mission if what they have isn't sufficient. And I'm sure it isn't." Sparky stopped walking around like a madman and starred at the ground utterly still. Carter wasn't sure what to make of the sudden change of events.

"How long do I have?"

"Five minutes."

"FIVE MINUTES?"

"The sooner we stop talking and the sooner you make those bombs the better off we'll be."

"Um, uh, okay, alright. These are the chemicals you have?"

"Yes."

"Alright, so um, then, uh, get me a knife, some nitroglycerine, the medic should have some, and some table salt. And then pray."

Carter wiped his forehead with the back of his left hand. Five minutes had come and went, and he was still no closer to solving the issue of making a bomb. Slumping in a nearby chair, he felt discouraged. Chemistry was his passion! He should be able to make something of the materials he had. The only problem is he didn't have many materials, but he had to keep trying.

"Any luck?" Sparky asked peeking in.

"No. Well, I suppose this cooould work. It would be great to test it, but I need some more tools." Carter sighed in frustration. Sparky groaned.

"Will what you have work?"

"Maybe?"

"Well then package it up. You are going after the team."

"Wait, what? I've never been outside the wire, not since I was captured! And that wasn't a pleasant experience!"

"Which is why you are going with Tommy here." Sparky motioned a RAF junior technician. "Now I am breaking just about every rule in the book, but I want you to go, and go _now_!" Sparky practically shoved Carter towards Tommy. Carter barely had time to grab the supplies before being thrown outside the tunnel before he knew it.

Carter could tell that part of the tunnel was brand new, as it felt more unstable than any other part, and had more of the fresh dirt smell, from which a few pieces hit him in the head as he ascended a temporary hanging rope. Climbing out, he ended up in a stump where he was forced to take the top off of, much like taking the top off a biscuit tin. He would need to ask about it later. Tommy who was ahead of him, motioned for him to follow, and Carter did just that, still trying to sort out the chain of events. _All I wanted to do was go to the latrine. And now I'm on some kind of mission? Who exactly are these people?_

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch starred at the ceiling. It has been about 15 minutes since Carter left to go outside, and he hadn't returned. Kinch was being to wonder if the boy hadn't tried to escape. _No, if he did, we would have heard the alarm go off. Unless he managed to make it out? No…maybe he fell in the latrine? Naah. Maybe he went to talk to Klink? No… that doesn't seem to work either. Rolling over onto this side, his mind couldn't help but race. Five more minutes and I'll send a sleep-walking Newkirk to go and find him. _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Olsen move steadily and silently through the woods with Thompson and Bailey, and Williams behind him. He was feeling the mussels in his back starting to complain, as he was still moving hunched over. Pausing for a moment he crutched down and the other three men knelt down beside him. Using his hands he motioned to a patch of open ground about 50 metres away. Nodding in understanding they all waited as Olsen made a dash for it. Holding their breath they waited. A moment later a hand appeared singling them over, the patch was clear. Hurrying over, the two joined him. Olsen glanced around for a moment, and again in silence pointed a small road. Following it, the three of them found the platform where they convey would meet up with the train.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter had never ran so fast in his life. Usually he enjoyed running, it made him feel free, alive, and as if he were flying. However this time he was running terrified, confused, and as silently as possible. Sparky still hadn't explained to him exactly why they needed three explosives, nor had he said where Tommy was leading him, all Carter knew is he had to get there as fast as possible. Praying that no one would see him as he ran through the woods, Carter continued to follow Tommy.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch had had enough. He needed to know where Carter was. Climbing off his bunk he walked over to Newkirk, who was back on his bottom bunk, and knelt down. Kinch shook his shoulder.

"Peter….Peter…" Kinch whispered.

"Go away, Kinch, I'm with a blond…"

"No time for that now, I want you to go and find Carter."

"Why, 'e can't find 'is way 'ome?" Newkirk opened one eye.

"I dunno. But it's been 20 minutes and he hasn't come back." Kinch whispered near Newkirk's ear.

"Blimey." Newkirk sighed. "I feel like a mother 'en." He sat up and pulled on his boots. Walking towards the door, he looked back at Kinch. "Do me a favour, Kinch, buy the blond a drink till I get back?" Kinch laughed quietly before answering.

"Sure thing, Newkirk."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan was bored. He couldn't imagine actually spending a whole 30 or 60 days in the cooler. It was cold, the bunk was hard, and LeBeau's _and_ Schultz's snorings were keeping him awake. Hogan sighed. At least the snoring was better than the hour long rendition of "_Le Prisonnier d'Hollande (__2)__". _Not only horrible in Hogan's opinion since LeBeau was singing it again and again, but horrible since he expected him to join in. Something Hogan wasn't exactly keen on, since one, he didn't know the words (_just repeat what I say, Colonel_), and two, LeBeau instead on correcting his pronunciation_ ("'__**les**_ _lilas sont_ _**fleuris'**__"_ _mon Colonel_.)**. **

Hogan stood up and walked over to the bars peering out towards the compound, pulling himself up, he looked outside. It was dark save for the searchlights. Suddenly he caught a figure walking across the compound. It appeared to be Newkirk. He was sleep walking.

Hogan laughed silently. Either Newkirk had actually picked up the habit, or… something was terribly wrong. The second thought washed threw him like cold water. He wanted to keep watching but his arms gave way and he dropped back down on the ground. Looking at the bars again, he started to fiddle with them, but groaned with frustration, as without the proper tools, he couldn't make them go up and down like the fence. However, he was determined to try.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Olsen, Thompson, Williams, and Bailey watched the platform. It was already crawling with a few guards. They would need to be stealthy in order to pull off their mission. Olsen signalled silently to the two others, telling them with specific hand movements what to do. Both nodded in agreement, and the three split up, heading for different sections of the track. Olsen looked down at the pathetic excuse for an explosive in his hand. This had better work, because he didn't even want to think of the alternative.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter was nearly out of breath. Granted he was strong, young, and fit, but he was also undernourished having been in a Dulag, and now at a Stalag Luft. Tommy suddenly stopped and knelt down and Carter ran directly into him, nearly falling over Tommy's head and back. Tommy, turned around and gave Carter the "shh" single with his lips and finger. Carter nodded and knelt down to rub his shin. Tommy pointed over towards a road leading down a small hill. Singling, he started to walk, absolutely silently, while hunched over. Carter attempted to mimic, yet found every twig in Germany to accidentally step on. Spinning around, Tommy gave him a look of utter annoyance, before continuing his deer-like movement. Carter moved slower to avoid stepping on twigs.

The two of them finally reach a point where they could see movement in the foreground. Knelling down, Tommy pointed to the explosives they had in the bag, and then to specific places on the track. Carter nodded. He looked around, however he saw no signs of the other team, just a few Germans boredly patrolling. Yet this did not seem to bother Tommy in the least bit. He had moved away and was already gauging his move to attach an explosive on the underside of the platform.

Carter swallowed. He felt utterly exposed in his uniform. He made a dash for the rails and immediately buried himself behind the back part of the platform that was under the overhang, and next to the rails. Yanking the explosive out of the bag he set it under the rails. _The moment the train put its weight on it. BOOM!_ Carter only wished he had a timer to install with it. Moving further down, he set up the second explosion, in the same similar fashion as the first, crossing his figures that he could pull it off.

Carter buried himself back underneath the overhang by the platform, and eyed up and down for where Tommy had gone. He didn't see him anywhere. Panic began to build in Carter, his mind racing as to what to do. His breathing became quicker, and quicker, and quicker, finally Carter was sure he was going to hyperventilate and decided to slowly move back towards the woods. He started to crawl out from under the platform when he heard the terrifying and steady, _click-click…click-click….click-click….click-click_ of hobnails (3) hitting the cement. Carter immediately froze and without realizing it, held his breath. The sound of the hobnails came closer, and closer, and when Carter didn't think he could take the suspense much more, the sound halted, scraped the ground, and started heading the other way. Letting out the breath, Carter's heart started up again. He looked around him, and then dashed back towards the woods.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Olsen met up with Bailey Williams ,and Thompson back in the woods. Each man used silent singles to convey specific meanings. Olsen nodded understanding. Suddenly there was a slight rustle in the leaves. Olsen peered into the darkness, heart pounding in his chest. He layed down on the ground. A moment later a boot stepped directly on his hand. Olsen bit his lip to keep from crying out. The boot's owner looked down to see what he stepped on.

"Olsen?"

Rose?"

"Olsen!" Tommy whispered loudly while he bended down and helped Olsen back up.

"Rosey, what are you doing here? Looking or Döner meat (4)?"

"Don't call me 'Rosey', it's Tommy. And no…I'm not looking for "Döner meat", I came to help you guys, I brought-" Tommy stopped and looked around. There was no sign of Carter anywhere.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

(1 ) This joke needs some explaining. Because, it's too funny to go unnoticed In EKvH, Schultz is from Bayern, and speaks, well, Bayrisch. Big surprise. To a non-Bayrisch speaker, it sounds funny (Sorry!), and it is considered "non-standard" German. ('schuldigung ob man von Bayern ist! Aber…es stimmt...tja...ok, ik wohn in SH, also...jaja...lol) and Schultz always says his, „ich seh' _nix_" (I see nothing), in his Bayrisch accent. So when Langenscheidt says "Deutsch"_nix_""(German not), he is making fun of that particular line. Everyone with me still? Good.

(2 ) A popular French song from during the French-Dutch war, about French Prisoners in Holland

(3 ) For those of you who don't know, hobnails are what were on the bottom of the Wehrmarkt boots in order to help keep traction. They were basically like tiny nails that had a tendency to always fall out, but made the distinct clicking notice when the walker made contact with a hard surface.

(4 ) EKvH running gag


	8. Chapter 8

_Je suis navré,.pour mon mauvais Français dans ce chapitre.__ S'il vous plaît me dire si quelque chose cloche._

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter ran for his life. And he ran for his next life, and the life after that, and everyone else's lives. He could hear the owner of the hobnails started to chase after him, yelling at him to stop or be shot. He could also hear the hobnail's owners summoning his friends, who were trying to slow Carter down with a bullet in his back. None of these things stopped Carter though, he was determined to make it out alive. Where he would end up alive was for him up for grabs at the moment, but when he got there, he wanted to make sure he was intact. _Now if only I knew where in Germany I was running, and where in the world I should run to!_ Carter thought desperately.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Olsen and Tommy debated a moment. However their resolution was interrupted by shooting. All four members of their tiny party crutched down straining to both hear and see more. They could hear shouting and running heading off in a direction away from theirs, and it didn't take them even a moment to realize, it was the guards chasing after Carter. Looking at each other, it was time to decide what to do. Should they go after him? Leave him? Reclaim him from the guards? Report him as an escape prisoner? Was he a spy and was putting on a show just now? Or was he truly a downed flier? The four men were out of time to decide. If they were going to act they would have to do it now.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan watched as Schultz ran across the compound from his tiny window. He had heard the yelling and saw the lights suddenly swerve, and had pulled himself back up to look out the window. The suspense of what was going on was killing him. He had to know what was going on.

He began to pace slowly across the little cell. But his speed little by little picked up. Throwing his hands up in frustration he let out a loud groan. If there was one thing that Robert E. Hogan couldn't stand, it was the feeling of being trapped and useless.

"Ce qui est mal, mon Colonel? _(What's wrong, Colonel ?)_" LeBeau asked sleepily, Hogan's groan having woken him slightly up. Hogan stopped pacing and slightly snickered.

"Rien, LeBeau. _(Nothing)_" He sighed, and was about to start pacing when an idea hit him. "LeBeau? As tu de ton couteau de chef? _(Do you have your cooking knife ?)_"

"Oui…." LeBeau answered still mostly asleep. Hogan leaned forward into the cell's bars and reached out his hand grasping the knife as LeBeau handed it to him from the cell next door.

"What do you need it for, mon Colonel?" He asked, now fully awake.

"I'm going to clear us an emergency escape path. There is something go on outside in the compound tonight, and I intend on finding out what it is."

"Colonel, what if Schultz sees…. I mean what if one of the guards sees you?" LeBeau asked correcting himself.

"I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen then. There is something strange happening in this camp tonight, and I intend to get to the bottom of it, and end it." Hogan turned away from the bars at the door, and over to the ones at the window. Using LeBeau's knife, he started sawing away at the point on the bars where they meet the bottom of the window.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Schultz stirred Newkirk back into the tiny barrack, and then directly to his bed. He took his hand off Newkirk and turned him around so he was facing him. Newkirk felt a bit like a child about to be lectured.

"Now Newkirk," Schultz whispered, "please go to bed, and stay there. It is too dangerous to be walking around at night, gell?"

"Right, Schultzie."

"Sleep dreams, Newkirk."

"Night Schultz." Newkirk turned and crawled back into his bottom bunk, having traded back with Carter earlier.

"Did you find him, Newkirk?" Kinch whispered from somewhere in the darkness, the moment Schultz shut the door.

"No. Schultz 'ad no idea 'at 'e was missin'." Newkirk slid under the thin wool blanket. Kinch sighed and sat up on his bunk. Running his fingers threw his hair.

"I wonder where he could be."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter was running out of steam. However he was determined to give a good chase. Hopping over log, Carter realized from the shadows in the distance he had come to the edge of the woods. He was now entering a town. Panting, he wondered if he could lose the guards among the buildings. In his renewed excitement he rushed out of the wood and immediately fell down a slight hill, coming instantly face to ground. Carter let out a scream in surprise. Brushing the dirt out of his nose and mouth, a guard managed to seize him before he got up and running again.

"Sie sind richtig in der Klemme, junge. _(You are really in trouble this time, kid.)_" The older German sighed, grasping Carter's shoulder tightly. Carter's heart seemed to beat a million times faster than when he was running, with the man's hand on his shoulder. "Kommen Sie. Wir gehen, ja? _(Come-on. Let's go, hm?)_" Carter on the other hand, merely nodded. He felt was if he was detached from his body, not in control, and thus didn't need to truly understand what was going on.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"So, it's settled then?" Olsen barely whispered, his whole body straining to hear what was going on with Carter.

"I still think it's a terrible idea." Bailey shook his head.

"What other choice do we have, mate?" Thompson looked at Bailey.

"I dunno…I just don't like it."

"So it's settled then. Come-on, gang." Olsen stood up, stretching his legs immediately upon doing so. Glancing back into the woods, he let out a deep breath, and slowly shook his head. "I hope we know what we are doing…"

"Come-on then, we might as well get started." Tommy Rose waved at the others to follow him. "Out of curiosity. Just who is gonna take the wrap for this when the Colonel finds out?" He looked straight at Olsen.

"I will I suppose. I'm suppose to be in charge, aren't I? Guess that comes with the territory." Olsen faked a grin that no one could see in the dark.

"When do you want to tell him?" Rose took a few steps, the others following directly behind him.

"Tomorrow. He should be outta the cooler by then, and I will have a chance to get one more night's sleep before I'm shot at dawn."

"I think it's against the Geneva Convention to shoot your own men." Bailey laughed almost silently.

"Tell that to the Colonel after he finds out what we did….but before he decides to shoot me please." The rest of the walk was met with complete silence. Each man left to his own thoughts, and his ears to every sound around them.


	9. Chapter 9

_Warning: Slightly dark scene (for my writing style at least)_

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Hogan kept working at the bars. Unfortunately for him, he was doing more harm to LeBeau's knife than he was the metal. Throwing the knife at the wall in frustration, Hogan looked at his night's work. He had barely gotten threw one bar, and it was completely obvious what he had done. Hogan cursed at himself silently, vowing that they could skip working on the barracks tunnel connections, for one to the cooler. Picking back up the knife, he handed it to LeBeau, who promptly upon seeing the damaged to his beloved cooking instrument, started a tirade in French, directed towards no one in particular. Hogan sat back down at the ground, and starred up at the sky, and watched it glow from black to pink.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"Kinch sat on the table in the common-room. Everyman was either sitting up, or propped up on one elbow listening to him."

"…need answers. So if anyone has something to share, now would be the time to do it." He looked around the darkroom, seeing people's faces only when the search light passed over them.

"Look, Kinchy. I think if anyone 'ere 'ad 'imself an idea, 'e woulda told ya by now, don't ya think?" A voice drifted out of the darkness from Kinch's right.

"I would hope so. But I need an answer now. So I need a volunteer to go into the tunnels and see if maybe some one down there has seen him."

"How would he have gotten into the tunnels, Kinch?" Another voice spoke from the darkness. "He hasn't been down there, has he?"

"No. He doesn't yet know about the operation. But maybe someone down there saw him."

"How? The only entrances are here, the dog kennel, and Klink's living-room."

"Look, I dunno! Someone just go start to investigate. I also want two volunteers to go to the other barracks."

"I'll go Kinch. I would love to pull a prank on-" A voice this time to his left voiced up.

"No pranks!"

"I will also go, Kinchleo. I could not sleep anyways." Kinch nodded at the second volunteer, even though he knew it was pointless in the dark.

"Good. Both of you have 15 minutes each. Then I want you back in here, understood?"

"Understood."

"I'll go into the tunnels, Kinch-o. I left my book down there anyways."

"That 15 goes the same for you too," Kinch said turning to the tunnel volunteer, "even though you'll be in the tunnels. I will alert you with the single if he appears back in here. In which case, come out through either the dog kennel, or Klink's living quarters."

"Understood, Kinchy-o."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

It wasn't that Carter was scared beyond all reason that his heart couldn't seem to control itsself, rather it was the thought that he had been setup by the others that seemed to fuel his increased heartbeat.

The last few hours seemed to have happened in a mere matter of a few minutes. Carter tried to think back to just what exactly lead him to this particular situation in which he found himself. Yet, he wasn't able to come up with a clear reason to the question of why he now found himself bouncing, yet again, in the back of a german LKW. In fact, the only explanation is that he had been deliberately set up by someone. However, Carter was unable to fathom exactly why. Had he done something wrong? Were the others all traitors? Was that not even a POW camp he was in? Whatever the reason both fear and rage filled him. Carter now had a new mission, and that was to get back to America at any cost.

Carter looked out the back of the LKW at the shadowy landscape that was rolling by. Suddenly the whole of the world shook as a loud explosion rocked the scenery. He smiled slightly, happy to know that his night's word hadn't gone for naught.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch and the rest of barrack 2 were still wide awake when Schultz came in to announce that roll call was happening. Kinch looked at each member of the barrack as pure dread washed over him. _This has to work_. Kinch vowed. Nodding to Olsen and Newkirk, the men slowly filed out and into the pale morning light. Looking up, Kinch noticed that Hogan was exciting the cooler and making his way across the compound, he was immediately followed by LeBeau and the rest of the "gardening" team. _Must of talked Klink into letting them out with him_, Kinch smiled. Looking back at the line, he saw that both Olsen and Newkirk were in place. _Let's see if we can pull this off_, Kinch prayed silently.

Hogan took his place at the front of the line, as the guards began to count each member of the camp, and reporting back to Schultz. Schultz in turn counted the men in front of him. Smiling at Hogan, upon seeing that he was out of the cooler. As he made his way through the lines, he stopped at the man between Olsen and Newkirk.

"Newkirk…..who is thiiiis?" Schultz pointed at the "man" standing between Newkirk and Olsen.

"'Im, Schultz? 'E's me new Bunkie."

„Newkirk...pleaaaaaase. I could be shot for this...where is that new boy…?" Schultz quietly pleaded.

"You really wanna know, Schosie?" Olsen smiled.

"No! I' seh' nix….i hör nix…. _(I see nothing… I hear nothing…)_" Schultz shut his eyes, and opened them again to keep counting. Hogan looked over his shoulder at the men. Immediately confused as to what was going on. Upon seeing the "member" in-between Olsen and Newkirk, his eyes froze. If they had him out…..

"Repooooooort! _(Report!)_" Klink shouted. Hogan turned back to see Klink stride across the yard, and immediately turned the rest of the exchange between Schultz and Klink out. Something _did_ happen last night. He knew his gut couldn't be wrong. Keeping his mouth closed, his mind began to spin different scenarios in his mind. However as Hogan began to panic, Klink couldn't help but take advantage of the situation.

"I see you are quiet this morning, Colonel Hogan. Tell me, what do you think of my speeches now?" Klink waited smiling.

"Look, Willi-" (1)

"KLINK!"

"Look, Klink-"

"Oberst Klink!"

"Look, Oberst Klink, I am very tired, I had a long night at the _Opéra_national de _Paris. _So if you-"

"And just what were you doing at a French Opera?"

"Why, singing of course, my dear Kommandant. What else do you do at an Opera?" Hogan smiled.

"Well you could…oh dismissed!" Klink turned around and headed back towards his office.

"You hear the Kommandant! Geh ma', geh ma', geh ma' _(go, go, go)_!" Schultz shooed the men away. Hogan kept his eyes on Newkirk and Olsen, immediately following as the majority of the men walked back into the barracks.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Hogan demanded after the last men entered and the door was closed. Hogan spun around and faced each man with a stern look. Everyone man immediately feeling guilty. Kinch swallowed as he stepped forward, looking at the door signalman for reassurance that it was all clear.

"Well, Colonel…sir…."

"If you are starting it so formally, I know I'm not going to like it." Hogan leaned back against the common-room table and crossed his arms."

"Kinch, I can tell him." Olsen stepped forward.

"Well someone should. Why did you guys bring out ol' Uncle Sam there?" Hogan motioned with is head at the full-size dummy POW now lying on a corner bunk.

"Sir, please. It's my fault." Olsen hung his head low.

"No Olsen, it's my fault. I was the one in charge." Kinch admitted shamely.

"I don't care whose fault it is. Someone just tell me what happened." Hogan calmed himself down, upon seeing the look of utter shame in his men's eyes. Kinch started at the beginning. How after Hogan had been taken to the cooler, that he had ordered Newkirk into the tunnels, and how Carter had snuck out of the barrack. Olsen added the portion from when Rose had turned up at the site, and had admitted to taking Carter with him. Hogan groaned at the information.

"How did he get into the tunnel?"

"Rose said something about Sparky finding him, and about him making explosives." Olsen replied.

"Where is Rose and Sparky now?"

"Uh, Sparky should be at the radio. Rose is probably down there working on the tunnel extension. We were going to start work on tunnel 4 to surprise you, sir." Kinch answered.

"Well get both of them up here pronto. I want to speak with both of them."

"Yes, Sir!" Olsen and Kinch responded at once, and both started to take a step forward in order to leave. Hogan massaged his head. "What happened after you realized he was missing, Kinch?" Kinch and Olsen stopped mid-step and turned back towards his CO.

"We started a search party. I sent Newkirk out, and sent a man down into the tunnels, and others to the different barrackses. It was Sparky who told me he was out with the team, Colonel."

"Why didn't you inform me of what was going on?" Hogan felt as if the whole world was collapsing around him.

"There was no way, guv'ner. We couldn't get near the cooler." Newkirk spoke up for the first time.

"I see." Hogan massaged the bridge of his nose, soaking in the information. "Alright, Olsen you go find Rose, Newkirk, go find Sparky. Kinch, you radio the underground, see if perhaps he was picked up. The last thing I want is for someone to find him and for him to sing like a canary about our operation." Hogan stood up and slammed his office door behind him.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

It didn't take long for Olsen to find Rose. He was leaning over a spade, wiping the sweat from his brow. Rose turned his head towards Olsen as he heard him walk down the tunnel hall.

"Hey Olly-Olsen! Care to join in? A little dirt never hurt anybody." Rose smilled.

"Not now, Rosey. The colonel wants to speak with you."

"Me? Did I do something wrong?" Rose stood up straighter, and played nervously with the top of the spade.

"No…well….yes…..well….no….oh just come on, you know how the Colonel hates to be kept waiting."

"Don't remind me. I still can't get the smell from that night of KP duty outta my uniform. Speaking of which, I should probably change." Rose sat down the spade and started walking towards the changing room, Olsen following behind him.

"I doubt very much the Colonel would care if you got dirt in his quarters."

"No…but Schultz might."

"True. Okay, I'll wait, I'm supposed to delivery you first hand."

"Oh boy, now I _know_ I'm in trouble." Rose groaned as he slide off his current uniform for a fresh one in the changing room.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Rose and Sparky each took a deep breath before knocking on Colonel Hogan's door. Hearing a chair slide across the wood floor, and Hogan personally opening the door, scared both men more than if Hogan had started shouting.

"Sit down…both of you." Hogan said calmly, but with no question of authority left out.

"Yes Sir." The two men responded, and sat promptly down on the corner of the lower bunk in Hogan's office. Hogan looked at both men, obviously terrified of what he was going to say next. Hogan took a deep breath before starring both men in the face.

"Alright. I want to know what happened. _Exactly_. We will start with you, Sergeant Binnie." Hogan crossed his arms, leaning on his desk. Sparky swallowed.

"Well, Sir. It was like this. I was just mindin' the radio, ya know, um Sir, and then there comes in this Sergeant. Obviously new to the tunnels, ya know? And I asks him, I did Sir, if you had given your permission to be down here. And he said yes. So I shows him the tunnel, and then all of the sudden he tells me that you didn't tell about the operation. Naturally, Sir, I was confused, ya see? But then he tells me that he is an explosives expert, so I thought to myself, 'Sparky boy, if he can make a better explosive than what those boys have, by all means, I should let him!' Sir. And well, he did. And so, I go get Tommy, ya see, and he takes the kid out." Sparky held his breath, knowing full well what could happen to him since he broke protocol. Hogan frowned for a moment, considering the story and what to say next. "Please Sir! Please I beg leniency! I was only tryin' to save the men out on the mission! Please Sir! Please don't send me back to England!"

"I'm not going to punish you, Sparky…." Sparky sighed a sigh of relief. "At least not yet." Hogan turned to Rose. "Alright, Sergeant Rose, your turn." Rose gulped.

"Well, it's true, Sir. What he said. Sergeant Binnie did come and fetch me. He told me that Sergeant Carter? I believe that was his name. That the sergeant had made explosives, and it was imperative to get them to the men outside the wire. So I led the two of us there. Apparently the explosives that the team had to be set off by hand, once the convey arrived, dangerous to say none the less. There, Sir, we planted the explosives, and turned to leave. I made it back to the meet-up spot, where I found the others, Sir, but the sergeant was nowhere in sight. It was then, Sir, that we debated whether or not to go after him. Sergeant Olsen decided it was better to come back." Rose held his breath as well.

"I see…" Hogan quietly said, after a minute. Standing up from leaning on the desk he began to slowly tour his room, as if he was taking an afternoon walk. He suddenly stopped and turned back towards the two. "Do you know if he was taken captive?" Hogan inquired.

"Um, no Sir, at least, not for sure. We did hear shooting. I suppose it is possible that he…" Rose trailed off. Hogan nodded slowly.

"Alright. Thank you. You are both dismissed. One of you please send Kinch and Olsen in here. I want you both to know though, that neither of you are off the hook for breaking security."

"Yes Sir." Both men responded exiting the room. Hogan began to pace again, before suddenly stopping and pulling out a map of the area. Studying it, he looked for the nearest place that the men who had captured Carter could possibly be. He was starring intently at the map when Olsen startled him from behind.

"Sir…?"

"Ah! Oh Olsen."

"You sent for me, Sir?"

"Yes, Olsen, Kinch," Hogan added noticing that Kinch too, had entered the room. "I want both of you to take a look at this." He motioned to the map. "Where in your opinion, if you were a German guard, would you take an American POW?" The three men starred at the map a moment.

"Well, Sir. I would take him, here." Olsen pointed at the map. "At least for questioning. Of course, since he was at the site where a convey blew up….I would um…" Olsen swallowed, "take….take him…. him, here." Olsen pointed at another spot of the map. Hogan agreed glumly, turning to Kinch for his opinion.

"I agree, Colonel." Kinch added sadly. Hogan picked up the map, and rolled it aggressively back into a tight roll, before storing it back away.

"Alright then, we have our work cut out for us. We need to get that man back, so _we_ instead can interrogate him."

"Colonel," Kinch spoke up nervously, "just what, if I may ask, do you want to do with him, if, I mean when we get him back?"

"I want to find out just once and for all, who he is, before we ship him back to England."

"What should we do about Klink in the meantime, Sir?" Olsen asked.

"Klink? Nothing. Just make sure that everyone donates a piece of chocolate for the Schultz bribery fund."

"Boy, two pieces this week…taxes are sure going up." Olsen smiled.

"Well my dear Olsen, the state thanks you for your generous donation in order to keep its members alive. It is indeed an expensive country we run here." Hogan joked breaking the tension as he opened the door and went into the common-room. Opening the trap down into the tunnels, he descended down into the dark.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter huddled in the corner, fear filling his whole body. Any second now, the guards would be back for another round of what they considered "questioning". Carter wanted to cry, but his eyes were out of tears, having spent them during his last round with the guards. Trembling in the corner, Carter waited, waited in sincere fear.

He didn't have to wait long. He heard the familiar sound of hobnails hitting the stone floor. _Click-click…click-click….click-click….click-click_, the sound seemed to echo through the hallway, finding a victim to torture with his steady beat. _Click-click…click-click….click-click….click-click_, the sound got closer, and closer. Carter wanted to scream, he knew what the sound meant, and the pain associated with it. _Click-click…click-click….click-click….click-click_, the sound didn't stop. He wanted to melt into the walls, be anywhere, _anywhere_ other than where he was. _Click-click…click-click….scraaape, jingle, jingle, squeeeak_. Carter heard the guard stop at his door, pull out his keys, and open the door. Lifting his sore head enough, he could see with his eyes, that it was not the same guard which had thrown him unceremoniously in there.

"Raus! _(Out!)_" The guard pointed at Carter. Carter tried to swallow, but found his throat didn't work. Pushing himself off the floor, he limped over to the door. The guard grabbed his arm, and started to drag him down the hall. Carter's stumbling mixing in with the steady sound of the guard's hobnails hitting the floor. He then was shoved from behind into another room, immediately falling on the floor, where a man in black starred at him from above, and another guard stood next to him.

"Danke, Feldwebel. _(Thank you, Sergeant.)_" The man wearing the black suit purred, in a way that scared Carter straight to the bone. "Carter, Andrew Jonathan. Sergeant. Serial number 02763350." The man looked up from his clipboard, and noticed Carter's stunned face. "I see that this information is correct." The man smiled, but Carter was more afraid of the smile, than reassured. "What were you doing at the train stop? WHAT?" The man suddenly yelled, Carter, who was still on the floor, began to crawl backwards, afraid of the man now towering over him. "TELL ME! The Geneva Convention will not help you here, _Sergeant_! You are considered as of now to be an enemy of the State!" The man bellowed. Carter's eyes widened as the reality of his situation hit him.

"I…I…uh….I…." Carter sputtered, his mind suddenly blank.

"Tell me! Why did you blow up the train?"

"I…I…I du….du….dunnooo!" Carter finally managed to spit out. The man beat his fist against the wall, causing Carter to jump and the room to echo.

"_Why_ would you blow up a train, if you did not know _why_?"

"I…." Carter's mind tried to race, but felt as if it were trying to do it through sticky caramel.

"If you don't remember…we do have….other ways…" The man smiled again.

"I dunno! Look honoust! Oh boy, if I knew I would tell you! Honoust! I was just there! Really! I had no idea that…" A thought suddenly hit him. He could go two ways about this. Sell out the men at that POW camp, or deny he even knew them. Either way, it could cost him his skin. Inside Carter's mind a debate ranged.

"That WHAT?"

"That….that…. that that would happen! I was just trying to escape, boy, was I!" Carter felt some courage start to trickle its way into his body.

"Escape? Yes, I know all about you being at Stalag Luft 13."

"Well, you seem to know a lot about me, boy. So you know then that I was just trying to get back to England. Or Switzerland. Or even Sweden. Preferably the US, as you already know I'm sure, I am from there, and well so you see-„

"SHUT UP!" Again the man bellowed. "I don't care about you getting back to England., or your precious United States! I care about you telling me about everyone involved in blowing up the train, and with it, the convoy. Now you are going to sing, or wish you had never been born." The man motioned for the second guard, who had been standing silently in the corner, to grab Carter and throw him in the chair in the centre of the room. Carter's heart raced, and was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Also, while you are at it, are going to tell me just how your brother made it out of Germany…" Carter's mind seemed to come back into focus at the mention of his brother.

"You're mad. And I mean insane-mad! My brother is dead! You people shot him down!" Carter's voiced was full of hurt emotion.

"That's not going to work, _Sergeant_." The man sneered. "We both know perfectly well that your brother was thrown into Stalag Luft IV, and then escaped. My contacts in London keep track of everyone who makes it back, now I want to know who helped him out!" The man again smacked his fist on the wall, as if he was making a point. However Carter didn't even notice. His mind was again racing, this time about his brother. _Is it true? Could he have survived, and been thrown into a prison camp, like I was? That doesn't make sense, the Red Cross would have notified us immediately if he was captured. And breaking out? If he was indeed captured, he broke out? And got back to England? And why wouldn't he have notified us when he got back? That doesn't make any sense. And getting out of Germany altogether…._

"How…?"

"That is exactly what you are going to tell me, _Sergeant_…" The man again purred. "Now do you want to start with your brother, or, with the convoy?" He motioned for the guard to restrain Carter.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"Any luck, Colonel?" Kinch asked as he walked into the radio room. He was coming to relieve Private James, but quickly noticed that Colonel Hogan had apparently done that himself, and was currently sitting at the radio with a defeated look on his face.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Hogan sighed heavily as he stood up to stretch his legs. "The underground hasn't heard anything, and I've been monitoring Klink's office, nothing there either."

"Well, it hasn't even been 12 hours yet, Colonel. These things sometimes take time to-" However Hogan wasn't listening to Kinch. Instead he was starring blankly into space, as an idea hit him.

"Kinch. I want you to go and grab Olsen, LeBeau, and Newkirk." Hogan spun around and looked at Kinch.

"Um, alright Colonel." Kinch nodded to his CO, before turning to head up to Barrack 2.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- EKvH-

_(1) Hogan tends to call Colonel Klink, "Willi", in order to mess with the man. Well…in the german EKvH at least. :)_

_A/N: I know I said I would never write a chapter as dark as this one, with the scene with Carter... I debated about it for a long time, seeing as that is not my style of writing. I don't like writing dark like that, it's too close to home...literally. But I felt I needed it for the development of the story, so with apologies to Carter, the next chapter will be lighter. _


	10. Chapter 10

_Es tut mir leid, dass Hochstetter ein bisschen nach den Helden klingt. Leider kann ich ihn nich' so gut schrib'm... _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch quickly descended back down with the three men following him. Following Kinch back to the radio room, the all stood in a line, waiting for their CO to speak. They weren't disappointed.

"Alright men. I just got off the radio with the local underground. Together we are going to try and rescue, or kidnap Carter back."

"Kidnap 'im, guv?" Newkirk raised his eyebrows.

"Kidnap _or_ rescue, Newkirk. Rescue if he's one of ours, kidnap if he's one of theirs." Hogan answered in a flat tone. Newkirk nodded, following his thinking. "Now. After speaking with the underground, the operation is going to go as thus." Hogan grabbed a map lying on a side table. "We are going to go to this point here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "While the underground goes to this point." He pointed to another spot. "We are going as two gestapo officers containing one prisoner. As we infiltrate, we will ask about Carter. Now, myself and Olsen will be the two officers, and LeBeau, you are going to be the prisoner."

"Why am I always the prisoner?" LeBeau complained jokingly.

"'Cuz you complain the most, Louis." Newkirk grinned.

"Well at least I can cook." LeBeau grinned, causing Newkirk to redden in the face.

"Well at least I can-" Newkirk was quickly interrupted by Hogan.

"That's enough you two. You can cause World War Three after this war is over. Now," Hogan turned back to the rest of the men, "while, Olsen, LeBeau, and I are out, I want you, Newkirk, to monitor Klink's office, and Kinch, to intercept any messages."

"Alright, Colonel." Kinch nodded. Newkirk frowned.

„Sure you don't want me to come with ya, guv'ner?"

"No Newkirk, I want you to stay here with Kinch." Hogan quickly turned back to the map, not wanting to dwell on that subject any longer. "Now, I will have LeBeau bribe the Feldwebel at the motor-pool to leave the car outside the fence tonight after roll-call. Once Schultz turns our electricity off, and locks us in for the night, we will use our newly established emergency tunnel to get outside." Hogan walked over and looked down the hall, squinting to make out the emergency tunnel. "What is the status of the new tunnel exit anyways?" He asked, still looking down the pitch-black hall.

"Functional….impractical….and difficult to use, Colonel." Kinch answered. Hogan nodded..

„Sounds like our usual tunnel work." He turned and walked back over to the map. "Now, after we leave, we will drive to the local prison, and hopefully Carter will be there."

"Wouldn't they have taken him to headquarters for interrogation, that is, if he is being held by the gestapo." Olsen asked nervously.

"Well, I am assuming as much since Klink hasn't received a phone call about finding a missing prisoner yet, and we are the only local POW camp in the area, unless of course they want to drive north to Stalag Luft IV…as for taking him to headquarters, they would have either drive all the way to München, or up to Düsseldorf, Dortmund (1), that area." Hogan cast his eyes down, "let's just hope that isn't the case…" his voice trailed off. The others nodded sombrely.

"What will the underground be doing while we are out, mon Colonel?" LeBeau asked, breaking the silence.

"They, LeBeau, will be checking this area here. Hopefully he is still in town and at one of these two locations." Hogan rolled up the map. "Now, let's get something to eat, I don't know about you two, but I'm starving." Hogan walked out of the radio room, and headed towards the stairs, his men watching him leave.

"I think he's gone nuts." Olsen shook his head, the moment Hogan was out of earshot.

"Why do you say that?" Kinch asked curiously.

"Well, does he honoustly believe we can pull this off? We haven't done anything like this before. Getting people outta Germany, alright. Even blowing stuff up…okay. Breaking people outta jail? Forget it."

"Non, I believe the Colonel. I think we can do it." LeBeau spoke up.

"You're just sayin' 'at cuz you want to get outside the wire, Louis." Newkirk rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes, Peter, I most definitely want to play prisoner with the gestapo!" LeBeau stood in front of Newkirk and looked him dead on.

"Enough you two." Kinch spoke up again. Newkirk crossed his arms, dissatisfied, LeBeau did the same, but with his back to Newkirk.

"Now, let's just follow the Colonel's advice and get some lunch, alright?

"Alright Kinch." The two muttered, as the followed him out of the radio room. Kinch paused a moment looking at the radio now empty, and considered having someone bring him lunch as usual, but then decided that it was alright if he left it alone for 20 minutes. They were still on radio silence with London, and Klink hadn't been making or receiving any calls. Turning back towards the exit, he singled and then climbed up, Newkirk and LeBeau in turned followed him up the ladder.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Klink was dozing at his desk, when his new secretary suddenly knocked on his office door. Immediately sitting up, and pretending to work he announced her in.

"Herein. _(Come-in)_"

"Oberst Klink, es gibt nen Mann am Telefon. Er möchte mit Ihnen sprechen. _(Colonel Klink, there is a man on the telephone. He would like to speak with you.)_"

„Danke, Fräulein Hilde." He picked up the telephone. „Oberst Klink, wie kann isch Ihnen helf'n? _(Colonel Klink, how may I help you?)_"

„Klink!" A man on the telephone yelled.

"Jaaa, isch bin's! _(Yep, that's me!)_" Klink smiled happily.

„Klink...gusch! _(shut-up!)_" The man yelled, Klink's smiled disappeared. „Ich hab' einen Ihrer Männer- _(I have one of your men-)_"

„Einen _meiner_ Männer? Das kommt nicht in die Tüte. Mein Langer ist- _(One of _my_ men? That's not possible. My camp is-)_„

„Klink! Das ist mir scheiß egal! Ich hab' einen Ihrer Männer, und er ist gerade _einen meiner Gefangene_. _(I don't give a damn! I have one of your men, and he is currently _one of my prisoners_.)_"

„Wieso denn? _(How come?)_"

„Er war beim Zug, als er in die Luft gegangen war! _(He was by the train that was blown up!)_"

„Achsooo... _(Ohhhh)_" Klink openly nodded although the man on the other side of the telephone clearly could not see it. "Wieso war er draußen meines Lagers? _(Why was he outside of my camp?)_" Klink asked, the man on the telephone openly rolled his eyes in return.

"Das spielt keine Rolle, Klink. Aber Sie müssen wissen, dass nach heute, gehört er Ihnen nicht mehr. _(that is not important, Klink. However you need to know, that after today, he no longer is your responsibility)_"

„Moment Herr...Herr...wie heißen Sie? (_Just a second, Mr...Mr...what's your name?)_"

„Major Hochstetter."

„Moment, Herr Major, das Genfer Abkommen sagte- _(Just a second Major, the Geneva Convention says-)_„

„Noch mal egal, Klink! Die nationale Sicherheit sagte, dass ich machen darf, was ich machen muss! Auf wiederhören! _(Again irrelevant, Klink! National Security says that I may do what I need to do! Goodbye!)_" Major Hochstetter slammed down his phone. Klink was left stunned holding his telephone against his ear. _Why must war always be so complicated?_

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Klink sat as his desk starring off into space. His mind raced around what happened with his prisoner. _How did he get out? Where was he captured? When did this even happen? Schultz had reported all prisoners accounted for this morning. When was there time to escape __**and**__ be recaptured?_ Klink looked at his watch. It was only one in the afternoon. _When had the prisoner managed to escape?_ _When did a train blow up? _Where_ did a train blow up? Shouldn't we have heard a train blow up? A train blowing up would be awfully loud._ Klink stood up and walked out of his office, and then outside. Looking for his sergeant of the guard, Georg Hans Schultz.

"Schuuuuultz!" Klink bellowed. Looking around for the man.

"Jawohl Herr Kommandant!" Schultz ran up to Klink. „Was kann i' für Sie tun? _(What can I do for you?)_"

„Schultz! Wir habm uns nen Gefangener verlor'n. Zahl'n Sie die Männer, sofort! _(We have lost a prisoner. Count the men, immediately!) _"

„Jawohl Herr Kommandant! Sofort!" Schultz ran off to collect the other guards for an emergency recount. All the while panic rising in his throat.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"Colonel." LeBeau looked out the window of the mess tent. "The guards are gathering up everyone-"

"Raustreten! _(out!)_" Langenscheidt slammed open the door, causing some men in the tent to jump. „Alle raus! Raustreten! Sofort! _(Everyone out! Out! Now!)_" Langenscheidt watched as the confusion baffled the minds of the men in the tent. Only the men in barrack 2 had any kind of idea as to what could possibly be going on.

"Colonel…" Olsen whispered as they hurried out of the tent. "They must have found Carter…"

"That or Klink has something he really wants to share with us. I'm not sure which I'd prefer." Hogan's eyes showed true fear. Something that caused Olsen's knees to wobble, and his palms to sweat. It was only the second time he had ever seen the man truly panicked. And if Hogan was actually scared….he didn't want to think about it.

The men took their places in the line. Each trying to show as little fear as they could. However, something must have happened, it wasn't like Klink to take an emergency count without someone forcing him to do it. Their eyes were wide and their breaths short, as the men watched Klink descended from his perch on the deck and converse with the guards. Klink nodded and then turned to face all the men in the yard.

"My suspicious were correct. There is a man missing. And I have been informed by Feldwebel Schultz here, that it is a….Sergeant Andrew Jonathan Carter." Klink read the name off of a clipboard.

"John…'at was 'is middle name…" Newkirk whispered aloud to himself.

"Now, we can go about this two ways." Klink started to strut. "Either someone, the guilty party or not, confess and tell me how this man got outta camp in bright daylight-" Schultz paled at that line. Hogan thought he was going to fall over. "-or everyone will be on half rations." Klink for once didn't smile. Hogan swallowed. No one moved. "Very well then. Half rations, and no rec hall! Dismissed!" Klink stormed back into this office. Everyman turned to Hogan, however Hogan didn't notice their immediate questioning of him. His eyes were focused on Schultz.

Schultz turned around slowly, and started ushering the men back into the barracks. Catching Hogan's eye, he walked over to him.

"Pleeeease Colonel Hooogan. Where is Carter? I will be sent to the Siberia (2) for this!"

"Don't worry Schultz. We'll think of something." However Hogan's word did nothing to calm the look on the guard's face, nor did they help reassure Hogan either. Schultz merely nodded and locked the men in the barracks. Hogan groan softly and motioned for LeBeau, Olsen, Kinch, and Newkirk into his office. Not even waiting for the door to close before going off.

"Alright! I want to know how Klink found out, about Carter!" Hogan yelled. Momentarily throwing all his anger and frustration out the window. Although each man shot his eyes in a different direction, none spoke up.

"How? Who was listening to the radio, Kinch?" Hogan noticed the sergeant actually tremble before speaking. It shook Hogan, he was not used to seeing his right hand man terrified to speak up, and it made Hogan feel incredibly guilty that he had yelled at him.

"N-n-n-no-one. No-one, Colonel."

"What?"

"R-r-remember, Sir? You relieved Private James….and then we all went to the mess tent together?" Kinch met Hogan's gaze. And Hogan mentally slapped himself.

"Yes. That's right." Hogan turned around. So it was his fault. _Stupid Robby. This is the second stupid thing you've done this week. This has got to stop_.

"Alright, Kinch." Hogan said calmly, slowly turning around. "Why don't you get down on the radio. Let's see if our Chefin receives anymore calls."

"Yes, Colonel." Kinch exited. Hogan turned his back on his men again. He felt so embarrassed immediately jumping to conclusions. Olsen spoke up softly.

"Um, Colonel…what, what are you thinking about, about tonight?"

"It's still on. Unless Klink happens to mention where Carter is." Hogan turned around. "I want a full watch on Klink's office, and someone to monitor the coffeepot at all times."

"Yes Colonel."

"Of course, Sir."

"Right, guv." The men responded. Hogan nodded. Before softly muttering.

"I'm going for a walk."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan was in no better mood as he changed for the mission that night. Pulling on the last of the two boots, he was sickened at the sight that met him in the tiny mirror across the way. Barely making out his reflection in the dim light, he couldn't recognize himself, instead, he had turned into some monster. A monster in which he hoped would be defeated quickly, and painlessly.

"All ready to go, Colonel?" Kinch asked stepping into the room.

"Yeah Kinch. LeBeau? Olsen?" Hogan asked, turning to the men beside him.

"Yep. All set."

"Oui. Ready."

"Sure ya don't want 'nother 'and, Colonel?" Newkirk asked putting away the rest of the clothing supplies.

"Um, no Newkirk, that won't be necessary. I thank you for volunteering though." Hogan glance away, busying himself with something. Newkirk frowned. Once again he was denied helping out on something that wasn't related to pumping out downed fliers back to England, or the random missions that England had them starting to do that involved sabotage. And it hurt him. He had yet to be outside the wire. "I think we are all ready." Hogan said looking around.

"Oui, mon Colonel."

"After you two." Olsen added, following LeBeau and Hogan towards the still newly added emergency exit under the tree stump. Hogan started to climb the rope before stopping and looking straight at Kinch and Newkirk. It was hard for him to make out their faces in the poor light, but that didn't matter, Hogan was almost glad for the darkness, it made what he had to say all the easier.

"Kinch, Newkirk. If things get messy…or go wrong…burn everything. And I mean everything. Then get the whole camp back to England. Or Switzerland. Understood?"

"Yes Sir." Kinch nodded.

„Right guv." Newkirk agreed. Satisfied, Hogan disappeared out the tree stump, followed shortly by Olsen, and then LeBeau.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Newkirk threw himself down in the chair next to Kinch. Sighing audibly.

"Alright, Peter. I know you're upset. You do this every time the Colonel leaves you behind. So I'm biting. Seriously, what is wrong?"

"Why? Why does 'e leave me be'ind? I'm just as good as the rest of 'em. I can fight, think on me feet, I'm good with me 'ands, I speak German, I'm not…." Newkirk immediately turned red.

"Black?"

"S-s-sorry mate. I…I didn't mean…:"

"It's okay Newkirk."

„Must be frustratin' for ya."

"Eh, yes and no. I'm used to it by now. Can't say I like it though." Kinch shrugged. Newkirk made a fist.

"I just wish 'e'd let me show 'im 'at I am of 'elp!" Newkirk stood up. Kinch looked down, avoiding him. Newkirk noticed. "You know, Kinch. What is it? Why won't 'e let me outside the wire for missions like 'is?"

"Ehm, uh, well…." Kinch hesitated.

„What? What is it?"

„You...well...you stutter, Peter. (3)" Kinch looked away, embarrassed that he just embarrassed his friend. Newkirk's mouth opened.

"'At's it? 'At's the reason?"

"Pretty much."

"'At's bleedin' rubbish!"

"I'm sorry, Peter. Look I am. But you're stuttering would endanger everyone, and..." Kinch stopped mid-sentence. "Sorry."

"No, don't be sorry, Kinch. It just makes it worse."

"Look. Maybe you can work on it. Or talk to the Colonel. I'm sure there is something that you can do. I'll even help you if you want." Kinch smiled.

"Thanks. You're a good mate."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The drive to the local prison was met in complete silence. Each man being left to his own thoughts, and not wanting to share what those thoughts were. For Hogan, the trip seemed to both last a lifetime, and be over too soon. Dreading the answers he was going to receive as he parked in front of the building. After pulling up, both Hogan and Olsen yanked LeBeau out of the vehicle, and towards the front of the building, easily passing the guards at the entrance. Olsen quickly spotted the reception desk. Hogan and Olsen dragged LeBeau up to it.

"Heil den Bart! _(Hail the __moustache__!)_" Hogan began, the man behind the desk reciprocated. "Ich habe hier einen Gefangener- (_I have a prisoner here-)_„

„Das kann ich leicht sehen... _(I can easily see that...)_"

„-Der dabei den Zug war, als er in die Luft gegangen war! _(Who was at the train when it blew up!)_" Hogan finished.

„Achso." The man stood up.

„Und. Ich muss jetzt mit dem andern Mann reden, ähm... der...der... _(And. I need to speak with the other man, um… the, the, the...)_"

„Sergeant Andrew Carter, US Army." Olsen popped in.

"Genau. Mit ihm. _(exactly. With him.)_" Hogan nodded. The man behind the desk looked confused, before crossing over to the pile of files behind him and searching through them. A few moments later he turned back around.

"Es tut mir wirklich leid, mein Herr. Aber leider gibt es hier keinen Sergeant Andrew Carter. _(I'm truly sorry, Sir. But unfortunately there is no Sergeant Andrew Carter here.)_"

„Keinen Andrew Carter? _(No Andrew Carter?)_" Hogan yelled, smacking the desk with the palm of his hand, causing everyone except him to jump.

"Daaaaas stiiiiimmt. _(Thaaaat's riiiiight)_" The man replied, shaking.

„Also denn! Wo ist er? _(Well okay then! Where is he?)_"

„Leider...weiß...weiß ich nicht... _(Unfortunately I don't...don't know...)_"

„Wo würde er sein? _(Where would he be?)_"

„Weiß ich auch nicht! _(I don't know that either!)_"

„Bah!" Hogan throw all the papers from the desk onto the floor before storming out of the building. Olsen shrugged and grabbed LeBeau by the collar and followed him back out of the building and into the motorcar.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- EKvH- HH- -EKvH-

_(1) There were gestapo headquarters in both of these cities. A major one being in Dortmund._

_(2 ) Where the German POWs were kept doing WW1 by the Russians. Also a joke in EKvH for the Russian front._

_(3 ) It's true. Newkirk does stutter in the German version. Boy…does he ever!_


	11. Chapter 11

_I am very sorry for the delay in this chapter. I was injured in an accident shortly after I uploaded the last chapter, and hadn't been up to writing. But my hope is now to upload quickly, so I can finish this story by the 31st! :) So I hope this (longer) chapter was worth the wait! (P.S. I appologise in advance to anyone who is French or Italian. The conversation between the two characters is meant out of harmless fun, not real insults. [I infact love both countries! I lived in France for a while afterall...]) _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The three men drove once again in complete silence, not wanting to express what was on their minds. It was Hogan who finally broke the silence.

"We are meeting up with the underground at the Wirtschaft."

"At the 'Wirtschaft'?" LeBeau asked. "Sorry, I'm confused. Isn't Wirtschaft 'business' or 'economy' in English, 'économie' en Français ?" Hogan smiled, and Olsen openly laughed, causing LeBeau to feel as if everyone was in on a joke except him.

"Oh Louis. We are in Bavaria (1), remember? Of course it means 'economy', it also means 'pub'. Think about where you are." Olsen openly laughed. It felt good to have something to finally smile about. Hogan joined in, followed immediately by an embarrassed but amused LeBeau.

The men continued to drive, however after LeBeau had broken the tension, the atmosphere in the vehicle was not as tense as before, and the remainder of the ride was almost joyful. The three swapped stories from their lives before the war of the most outrageous and bazaar things that had ever happened to them, however all too soon, Hogan was pulling off onto a small side-street, and then men were forced to get out and walk into the woods. After which the tense and stress immediately returned, and LeBeau was once again forced to play prisoner.

Olsen shoved LeBeau forward, receiving a nasty look from him, to which Olsen merely shrugged. Hogan led the way, exciting the woods, as the trio neared a darkened pub at the wood's edge. Up ahead he saw two men, both in gestapo uniforms. He approached carefully. The taller of the two stepped out towards him.

"Haben Sie feuer? _(Do you have a light?)_"

"Aber näturlich. _(Of course.)_" Hogan reached inside his uniform for a match.

"Schön, heute. _(It's nice out.)_"

"Tja, ich vermisse die Vögel. _(_"Mm...but I miss the birds.)

„Die Vögel sind immer ruhig. _(The birds are always quiet.)_"

„Vielleich'. Aber wenn sie singen, sind sie nicht ruhig. _(Maybe. But when the sing, they aren't quiet.)_"

„Wie lustig würde es sein, ob sie ‚An die Freude' singen könnten. _(Wouldn't it be funny, if they were to sing, „Oh to Joy"?)_"

„Oder was von der Walküre." Hogan smiled. „Walküre? _(Or something from the "Valkerei?")_"

„Papa Bär?"

„Was haben Sie denn gehört? _(What have you heard?)_" Hogan was eager. The man sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Leider gar nichts. Es tut mir leid. _(__Unfortunately__ nothing. Sorry.)_"

„Was? _(What?)_"

„Gar nichts. Wie war es bei Ihnen? _(Nothing. How did it go by you?)_"

„Die gleiche. _(The same.)_" Hogan kicked a rock with his foot. „Danke, Walküre."

„Macht nichts, Papa Bär. Es tut mir wirklich leid. Wenn ich was höre... _(Not a problem, Papa Bear. __I'm really sorry. If I hear something…)_"

„Danke. Schönen Abend. _(Thanks. Have a good evening.)_"

„Gleichfalls. _(You too.)_" The two men went their separate ways, followed immediately by their own men.

Hogan placed himself back in the driver's seat as both Olsen and LeBeau crawled back in. Once again, the ride home was met with complete silence.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The silence continued as the men found their ways back into the tunnel and changed back into the uniforms. Olsen and LeBeau could see the information eating at their CO, however found that they lacked any words to ease his mind. Resigning to leaving him alone, the two men started to make their way back up into the barrack.

As they passed the radio room, they heard someone on the radio. Surprised both men stopped and were shocked to see that it was not, Kinch, Sparky, James, or one of the other radiomen, but instead Newkirk.

"D-D-D-anke, Tilli. J-J-Ja, auf w-w-wiederhören. _(Th-Th-Thanks Tilli, Y-Y-Yes. G-G-Goodbye.)_" Newkirk replaced the set.

„Newkirk. What was that all about?" Olsen asked, stepping into the raido-room.

"Mm? Oh, Olsen, ya're back. 'Ow was the mission? Did ya find 'im?"

"No. And you didn't answer my question."

"Oh. I was tellin' the American Red Cross w'at Carter's middle name was."

"Why?"

"To 'elp with the search of course. For the information. Blimey!"

"Oh, sorry, Newkirk. So much has just happened in the last few days, I forgot you made that call." Olsen yawned. "Anyways, I'm up to bed. Care to join me?"

"Yeah. I'll be followin' ya in a minute. I just need to wait for the night radioman ta come back."

"Alright. Night, Peter."

"Night." Olsen left, following LeBeau up into the common-room.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Morning came too soon once again for the members of barracks. Hogan looked especially dishevelled coming out of his office with dark lines under his eyes, having spent the whole night pacing. _I have probably walked to Japan and back_, he sighed wearily. Coming out of his office, he was immediately met with Private James climbing hurriedly out of the tunnel.

"Sir! Colonel! Klink just called der dicke Burkerhalter (2)! He just informed him that Carter went missing! And according to Burkhalter, he received a call from a Major Hochstetter and said that Carter apparently got picked up by the gestapo!" James was clearly panicked and out of breath.

"What?" Hogan's eyes went wide.

"There's more, Sir!" James continued frantically. "Burkhalter told Klink to relief Schultz of duty because he let Carter escape!" James' breath was coming as quick as his heart beat. Hogan was froze as the reality of his words hit him. A moment later, Langenscheidt open the door of the barracks gently.

"Hallo liebe Gefangene. Bitte, alle raustreten! _(Hello favourite/dear Prisoners. Please, everyone out!)_" Langenscheidt smiled at the prisoners as they slowly wondered out into the chill morning air. Hogan hung back next to James, as James wasn't suppose to be in the barracks, and Hogan was still digesting the information. However, Langenscheidt immediately noticed an extra man in the barracks.

"You! You sair! You don't belong hair. How come you in sis barrack?" Langenscheidt asked confused.

"I…uh…uh…" James's mind went blank, as Hogan's came back.

"Ah it's no large issue my dear Langenscheidt, for you see, our dear Airman here was merely conversing in some matters to which involved some multitude of attention in that needed to be attending to, that invoked his visit here, and as to thus, his presence here was not only required but made imperative to invoke such as action." Hogan explained, patting Langenscheidt on the shoulder as he turned his around and towards the door. Langenscheidt tried to process what Hogan just told him, or even understand what Hogan had just told him, but his brain hurt, and he blinked several times to help, all in vain.

"He came in sis morning?"

"Right…."

"Oh."

"Don't do again, please. Sey sen shoot me."

"Okay." Hogan smiled and took his place in the line.

Klink came out a moment later looking, if possible, angrier than he did the day before. Nearly yelling off the heads of each of his guards as they approached to give him the report. Finally turning to address the prisoners in the yard.

"As you may have noticed, you are still a fellow prisoner short this morning. That is because your Sergeant Andrew Jonathan Carter is currently having a picnic with the gestapo this morning." Klink stood still and watched the expressions of the men in front of him turn from amusement to utter despair and fright. "He shall not be returned to us due to evidence that he was involved in some underground activity. Also! You will clean up this camp and make it respectable. General Burkhalter will be by later this afternoon. That is all dismissed." Klink turned and walked back into his office.

"'E didn't even make a speech. 'Ow unlike 'im." Newkirk shook his head.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this, Peter! You English have no respect." LeBeau countered shocked at his friend. What they had just heard was terrible news. He couldn't believe Newkirk could be so callous.

"We have no respect, mate? We're not the ones 'o eat snails."

"Escargot is a delicacy!"

"So is self respect."

"At least we have art and culture."

"And we can win wars." Newkirk grinned as he started to walk away, LeBeau stepped directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Tell me LeBeau, 'ounstly. When was the last time you _actually won _a war?"

"The Great War."

"Nope. We won 'at one for ya."

"Fine. The Napoleonic Wars."

"Battles, LeBeau. You lost in the end. Something about invading Russia…now 'o would go and do a thing like that…." Newkirk snickered and walked away. LeBeau thought for a moment.

"Africa!"

"African Tribes don't count!"

Newkirk and LeBeau barely had time to get in the door before the lookout shut it behind them. Hogan stood leaning over the common-room table, one foot on the bench, one hand on the table itself. Newkirk immediately recognized that particular position. _He's 'bout ready to spill a plan_.

"Alright everyone gather around. Now, based on the information we have received, it comes down to this, we have to find out from der Dicke where exactly Carter is being held and get him outta there. Burkhalter will know for sure whether or not Carter is a spy and hopefully will tell Klink, instead of replacing him. Our goal is once he arrives to save Schultz from being sent to Siberia and Klink along with him. Now. I need a volunteer to confess to helping Carter out of the camp. We will need a good cover story on how he got out." Hogan looked around at the men. Each man looking in a different direction. "Well, don't all volunteer at once…" Hogan rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"I'll do it, sir." Corporal John Doe (3) stepped forward.

"Good, thank you, Corporal. I will need a second volunteer to escape and be recaptured, in order to throw the guards off of our real mission, and as always, help save Klink and Schultz from themselves." Hogan would normally have smiled at a thought like that, but he was currently in no mood, and instead focused on the faces on the men in-front of him.

"I'll do it, Sir. I could use a mini-vacation." Private Bobby Smith (4) stepped up.

"Good. Now I want you to wait until after we have the special roll call when Burkhalter is here. After which feel free to escape at your leisure. Go to the farm house down the road and hide somewhere in the barn." Smith nodded at his CO's words. Hogan than turned to Doe. "Doe. I want you to burst in on Klink and Burkhalter and tell them that you saw Carter escape in the back of the garbage truck. And that he was headed towards Switzerland. Let me know what their expressions look like when you give them the news."

"Of course, Colonel."

"The rest of you, I want a full sentry. Someone is to be monitoring the coffeepot at all times, the line out of Klink's office, and someone to possibly bribe Kalinke while we're at it." Hogan stood up, and paced a few steps. "I want to find out where Carter is being held, after which, we will get him into our custody and send him back to England."

"Do you think he is still one of ours?" Kinch asked nervously.

"No Kinch. I now am fully convinced he is one of theirs. Either one of theirs who studied among us, or one of ours turned kraut, but either one, one of theirs."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Burkhalter's motor pulled up in front of Klink's office, and Hogan and his men watched as he got out and walked up the steps. Rushing over to the coffee pot, they plugged it in to hear what he had to say. Meanwhile, Doe started his slow journey over to interrupt the meeting.

"Everyone shhh…let's here what der Dicke is saying." Hogan hushed everyone.

_"Klink. Warum habm Sie mir nich' gestern angerufen? __(__**Why did you not ring me?**__)__"_ Burkhater asked as he slammed open the door.

_„General Burkerhalter! __Bitte kommen Sie- (__**Please come**__-)„_

_„Halt die Klappe, Klink. Warum ruf'n Sie mir nich' an? __**(Shut up, Klink. Why did you not ring me?)**__"_

_„Tja, mein lieber General...isch... __**(Well, my dear General...I...)**__"_

_„Waos Klink? __**(What?)**__"_

_„Isch hab' nen Anruf vom Major Hochstetter, un' sagtet er, dass der Sergeant Carter bei ihm war, un'- __**(I received a call from a Major Hochstetter, and he said that Sergeant Carter was with him an-)**__„_

_„Ja, Klink...das weiß ich schon. __**(Yes, Klink...I already know that.)**__" _Burkhalter took a long inhale from one of Klink's cigars before sitting down. _"Als ich Ihnen schon gesagt hab, hat er mir angerufen. __Also denn. Wo ist der Feldwebel Schultz? __**(As I have already told you, he has also rang me. **__**So. Where is Sergeant Schultz?)**__"_

_„Schuuuultz! Herein kommen! __**(Enter!)**__" _Klinkyelled. Causing Burkhalter to wince.A moment later Hogan and the others heard the door open, followed by several heavy footsteps.

_"Herr Kommandant, Se habm mir-. __**(Kommandant, you-)**__" _Schultz started to speak. However Burkhalter interrupted him.

_"Schultz. Sie sind die Wache des Baracke Zwei, nicht wahr? __**(You are the guard for Barrack Two, correct?)**__"_

_„Da' stimmt, Herr General. __**(That is correct, General)**__"_

_„Also denn, bitte sagen Sie mir wie der Sergeant Carter- __**(Then, will you please tell me how Sergeant Carter-)**__„ _Hogan held as breath as he knew what Burkhalter was going to say next, however at that moment he heard the door open again and Doe's voice on the coffee pot.

"_Sir! General. Kommandant. Schultz. I uh...I have something to confess."_ Burkhalter turned in the chair and faced Doe.

"_Who are you?"_

_"Er ist niemand, Herr General, nur ein Gefangener von Baracke Zwei. __**(He's nobody, General, just a prisoner from Barack Two.)**__"_ Klink waved Doe away.

„_Stimmt das? __**(Is that true?) **__You are in Sergeant Carter's barracks. Tell me. How did he escape?"_ Burkhalter asked again this time directed at Doe.

"Well _General. Um. I….I helped him into the garbage truck."_

_"You!"_ Klink stood up. _"Schultz! Stell ihn- __**(Place him-)**__"_

"_Moment Klink. __**(Just a second, Klink) **__You helped him into the Müllwagen? Tell me, Corporal. And just where was he planning on doing?"_

_"Well, he was headed towards Switzerland. That is what he told me. Why?"_

_"No reason."_ Burkhalter shifted again in his chair, and faced Klink.

_"Klink, rufen Sie dem Major Hochstetter. __**(Klink, ring Major Hochstetter.)**__"_

_„Gerne Herr General! __**(Gladly, General!)**__" _Klink picked up his phone.

_"Um General. May I ask. Why is Carter hanging out with the Gestapo, I hear that those guys don't exactly play fair. And he is just a prisoner like us, isn't he? What has he done to deserve being taken away from here?"_ Doe asked tentively.

"That's what I want to know." LeBeau muttered. "Crimean War!" He suddenly shouted.

"Nope. Just 'o was your Ally 'ere, mmm?" Newkirk grinned.

"Shh!" Hogan shot a nasty look at the two of them.

"_Well Corporal, your friend was caught running away from the scene where a train blow up."_

_"You mean he was at the station trying to escape when the train exploded? Is he okay?"_

_"No, you misunderstand. He was caught running away from the scene, shortly there after the train exploded."_

_"So this has nothing to do with him. He is innocent! He only wanted to make it to Switzerland."_ Doe insisted.

_"We'll see."_ Burkhalter puffed on the cigar again.

_"Der Hochstetter, Herr General._" Klink handed him the phone. Doe held his breath as he listened to the interchange between Burkhalter and Hochstetter.

_"Major Hochstetter? General Burkhalter. Jaja, heil den Bart (__5)__. Hochstetter, Sie habm den Gefangener aus Stalag Luft 13, oder? Stimmt. Nein. Woas? Nein. Wie bitte? Der Klink und i' wollen mit Ihnen reden. Stimmt. Hm? Aber natürlich. Genau. Morgen dann? Gut. Auf wiederhören. __Ja, heil den Bart. __**(Yes, yes, hail the mustache. Hochstetter, you have the prisoner from Stalag Luft 13, correct? Correct. No. What? No. Sorry? Klink and I would like to speak with you. Yes. Hm? Of course. Exactly. Tomorrow? Good. Goodbye.)**__"_ Burkhalter hung up the phone.

„What do you suppose Hochstetter was saying, mon Colonel?"

"I dunno LeBeau, but I intent to find out from the guys downstairs."

_"General?"_ Doe broke the silence.

"_Oh you are still here."_ Burkhalter grabbed a second cigar_. "What is it you want now?"_

_"Well, Sir, is Carter coming home?"_

_"The sergeant? Perhaps. We shall see. But you are dismissed, Corporal."_

_"That's right, Corporal__ Doe, dismissed!" _Hogan heard Doe protest a moment, and then open and shut the door. Hogan stepped into the common-room, and catch Doe the second he walked in.

"Colonel, Sir. When I was talking to them, they didn't seem at all surprised or shocked when I said Carter was going to Switzerland."

"Colonel!" LeBeau called from the office. "You need to come hear this! Burkhalter is using this incident to relieve Klink of his charge, and Schultz is being reassigned!"

"What?" Hogan cried, running into the office, Doe trailing behind.

_"-a-a-a-aber Herr General! Niemand ist von meinem Lager- __**(-b-b-b-but General! No one from my camp-)**__"_

_„Halt die Klappe Klink! Morgen wird ein neuer Kommandant kommen, und mit ihm, ein wachhabender Unteroffizier. __**(Shut up, Klink! Tomorrow there will be a new Kommandant, and with him, a new Sergeant of the Guard.)**__" _

„He can't replace Klink and Schultz!" LeBeau cried again. "What do you want to do, Colonel? When the new Kommandant comes…."

"I know LeBeau. Burkhalter is just using this as an excuse to finally do away with both Klink and Schultz, and if that happens, our operation may just close down for good." Hogan started pacing. "Smith should be at the barn by now, so once he is found, Burkhalter just may go and change his mind. Then again…"

"Italy! We took Rome in like mid 1800s!" LeBeau shouted again. Everyone turned and looked at him, as if he were crazed. Newkirk chuckled.

"Please Louis. Italy 'asn't won anything since they were Ancient Rome. Try again, mate."

"You're making this impossible, Peter." LeBeau crossed his arms. Newkirk merely grinned.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Each man was on edge as the time for evening roll call came closer and closer. Even the guards that were watching the prisoners seemed to sense that something was up. So much so that the guards themselves were on edge and nervous when they went to round up the Prisoners for evening roll call.

Langenscheidt beckoned the men from Barrack 2 out and into the cool evening air. He noticed that even though the prisoners tried to smile and joke that there minds were some place else. _Probably_ _thinking about that Sergeant Carter…._ Langenscheidt shook his head and started counting. He noticed that Corporal Doe kinda duck as he passed. Almost ass if he was afraid to be caught or even noticed by any of the guards. As Langenscheidt neared the end of the second line, he began to sweat and his heart sped up.

"…elf, zwölf, dreizehn, vierzehn…" Langenscheidt looked around. He took a step up towards Hogan. "Colonel Hogan….sair ist only fourteen…..please fay do you fant me shot?"

"Don't you worry Langenscheidt. He'll turn up." Hogan smiled nervously. Langenscheidt gulped as he approached Burkhalter and Klink who had just stepped out of Klink's office.

"Melduuuung!_ (Repoooort!)_" Burkhalter yelled as he and Klink crossed the yard. Langenscheidt and the other guards ran up to him, giving there report.

"WOAS?_ (WHAT?)_" Burkhalter yelled before crossing over to Hogan.

"Colonel Hogan….it seems you have another man missing."

"Really? I hadn't noticed anyone gone." Hogan turned his head towards the rest of the men in the line-up. "Alright, who's been sneaking around planning escapes behind the Escape Committee's back?" Hogan paused a moment before shrugging. "Nope, guess you imagined it."

"I must have imagined it? Occurring to the list of the men in your barracks Hogan, it is a Private Smith who is missing. Do you know where he could have gone?"

"No…but then again, what do I know? He escaped behind my back."

"Hoooogan, you know where he is! Tell us!" Klink marched forward towards where Burkhalter and Hogan were standing.

"Gee Kommandant. I would love to, sadly I dunno where he is. Hey! Maybe he went to Switzerland!" Hogan smiled.

"Very funny, Hogan. Wache! Alarm geben!" Klink yelled. "Don't worry, Hogan. We will find him. No one escapes from my Lager!"

"Except Sergeant Carter." Someone snickered. Klink spun around.

"I heard that!"

"Don't worry Kommandant. I'm sure 'ey 'ave Döner Meat in Siberia!" Newkirk yelled. However Klink simply humpfed and marched towards a group of guards getting out the dogs.

"You seem a bit distracted, Willi, are we dismissed now?"

"Yes Hogan! Weggetreten!" Hogan broke off from the group of men heading towards the barracks and instead went to seek out Schultz. He found him sitting outside the guard's barracks, sulking.

"Hey Georgi, what's wrong."

"Oh, it's you Colonel Hogan. Oh it's terrible. They are reassigning me."

"Do you know where?" Hogan asked sincerely.

"No. Not yet."

"What if you weren't going to be reassigned?"

"That would be wonderful. Because they might reassign me somewhere closer to my wife. And _that_ would be just terrible."

"Look, Schultz. If I were you, I would show up Burkhalter, go looking for the prisoner myself."

"How would I do that?"

"Well, let yourself out of the camp, and if I were you, I would start checking barns around here. Like travel a bit north, maybe a kilometer or so."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why Schultz, I'm surprised at you. A smart guard like yourself. They wouldn't stand a chance in that barn."

"You're right, Colonel Hogan! I'll go do that."

"Good Schultzie." Hogan passed him a chocolate bar, before starting to head back towards his barracks.

"Wait! Colonel Hogan! What if die hohe Triere (6) want to know where I am going?"

"Bring them along, Schultz." Hogan grinned and turned back towards his barrack.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The men from each of the barracks watched as Klink, Burkhalter, Schultz and several guards left the camp, returning an hour later with Private Smith. Hogan watched as they dragged him over to the cooler, before stepping outside and walking once again up the steps into Klink's office.

Crossing the room he walked directly into Klink's office without knocking.

"Kommandant, I saw you found Private Smith."

"Yes, Hogan, as I have told you before, no one escapes from Stalag Luft 13 while I am in charge."

"I think I heard you say that once, Kommandant. May I ask where you found him?"

"Yes Hogan, we found him asleep in a barn up the road."

"Who found him?"

"Feldwebel Schultz." Burkhalter answered this time.

"Is it true that he and Baldy here will really be replaced tomorrow, General?" Hogan tilted his head towards Klink.

"Hogan! How do you know about that?" Klink stood up slamming his desk with both hands.

"Well, gee Kommandant, I heard Kalinke talking about it. It seems she's taking it pretty hard. And you know, it's impossible to keep a secret in a place like this." Hogan tried to sneak a cigar out of the humidor, but Klink slammed it on his fingers.

"You don't seem very broken hearted about this, Hogan." Burkhalter puffed on a cigar, pulling one out of the humidor and handing it to Hogan. Hogan bent down and let Burkhalter light it.

"On the country. This is the greatest news you've ever given us! The Escape Committee has just been waiting for a chance to put our plans into action, and without the bald Eagle here, we might actually get something accomplished!"

"Hogan…." Klink threatened. Burkhalter chuckled.

"By the way, when are we getting Sergeant Carter back?" Hogan suddenly turned serious.

"Tomorrow. I am driving up to Dortmund to speak with the gestapo man there."

"May I come with you, Kommandant?"

"No, Hogan. You are a prisoner."

"Ah, let him go. The place will scare any future escape attempts out of him." Burkhalter said, only slightly snickering, as he tried to push out the visions from the place that threatened to dance again before his eyes.

"Aber Herr General- _(But General-)_" Klink protested.

"Au, halt die Klappe, Klink. _(Oh, shut-up Klink)_" Burkhalter waved him away.

"Hogan you are dismissed." Klink sat back down at his desk. Hogan nodded, he felt he wanted to say more, but resisted, returning to his barracks.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan walked into the room, lost in thought as the day's events played again through his mind. He was brought back to reality, when Kinch knocked at his office door.

"Colonel, I have some good news, and some bad news."

"Good news first, Kinch."

"Well the good news is that the diggers have finished our emergency exit, and are working now on expanding the tunnel to the cooler."

"That is some good news. The first today."

"The bad news is, Sir. That the underground contacted us and they need some help taking care of a local Döner Meat Factory (7)." Kinch waited for his CO to answer. Hogan drummed his fingers on his knees and sighed.

"Alright, tell them we will send somebody. When do they needs this done?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Very well. Send um, the Moreau brothers. They are the closest thing we have to explosive experts."

"Um, Sir. With all do respect, neither brother has been outside the wire…..in well, have either of them ever been out?"

"Yes, the younger of the two. But I respect your concern, Kinch. I just don't want to send anyone from our own Barracks, since Klink will be watching it closely since we have now had two escapes."

"That makes sense, Sir." Kinch paused a moment. "Colonel. Are you going with Klink tomorrow to Dortmund then? I heard you on the bug in his office."

"Yes. I want to put an end to this once and for all. Once we get him back here, we will get him transfored, and from there, the underground will ensure that he has a one-way ticket all the way back to England."

"Colonel….I was thinking. Despite everything that has happened, what if he is telling the truth? What if he really isn't a spy? I mean, he's been captured for two days now, and I would think that if he had spilled about what he saw in the tunnel, we would have had some firey action about now." Kinch explained. He saw Hogan's geers turning as he bagan to pace.

"That is true. Then again, they could be trying to lure us into a false sence of security. By returning him to us, that could be in fact, a way to make us believe that he is indeed one of us, in which case they then have an agent on the inside. And we've worked too hard at profecting our travel agency for it to all go up in smoke." Hogan stopped and sighed. "Alright, thank you Kinch. If you can let the brothers know that they will be going out tomorrow, I would appreciate it."

"Sure thing Colonel." Kinch left the room.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

_(1) For those of you who don't know, Bavaria, or Bayern holds München or Munich, where our famous Oktoberfest is held every September (yes, I said September.)_

_(2) Nickname for Burkhalter, it means "The fat Burkhalter" (der dicke – the fat [one])_

_(3) Character from „Stalag 13 as Seen from „That Guy""_

_(4) Again one of my characters from „Stalag 13 as Seen from „That Guy""_

_(5) hitler was referred to a few times in EKvH as „der Bart" which means „The mustache"._

_(6) Das Hohes Trier (singular) Die Hohe Triere (plural), Schultz's nickname for when important people come into camp, he uses it for Klink every once in a while. (trans. "Big Shot")_

_(7) I know this seems a silly target, but they blow them up all the time in the show in season 6…._


	12. Chapter 12

Hogan was metally ripping out his hair for the next several hours as Klink chatting on about absolutely nothing. It was rather scientifically impressive the man's ability to keep a one-way conversation going about truly nothing. Hogan tried everything in his capasitivy to keep himself sane including mentally singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall, the ABCs, and seeing how high he could count, all in order to drown out the man's babble. He was finally working on multiplication facts, working on times factors by 32, when Klink's driver finally pulled into the city of Dortmund.

"Ah! Wir sind bald da! _(We are almost there!)_" Klink smiled happily.

„Endlich... _(Finally…)_" Hogan muttered, covering his eyes with his hand trying to get rid of his headache.

„What was that, Hogan?" Klink asked.

"Oh, um, I uh, said 'finally', Kommandant." Hogan quickly covered for himself. Looking outside the window, he found it was incredible how vastly different the northern parts of Germany were than the southern. Having been shot down, and quickly transported, he never got to truly appreciate the architecture of the various cities. Dortmund, Hogan noted, while being a smaller city, certainly had interesting architecture.

Hogan was still gazing outside the window, when the motorcar finally rolled up to the forbidding looking building of the gestapo headquarters. The driver, doubling as Hogan's own personal guard, opened the door and grabbed a shackled Hogan out into the wet, drizzling street. Hogan immediately stretched his legs, having been sitting for the good portion of six hours. _We could have been here in four and a half, if Klink and the guard didn't need to stop for a smoke every 45 minutes_, he chuckled to himself. Turning around he gazed at was the most depressing building he had ever seen in his 40-odd years. Following the structure up with his eyes, there was no part of it that seemed welcoming. The light rain and overcast skies seem to be apart of it. _I can't imagine this place in sunlight_, Hogan shivered.

"Walk." The guard, gave Hogan a slight shove, as the two followed Klink up towards the building. Hogan's heart seemed to beat faster with every step, he couldn't seem to figure out why, yet there seemed to be something very wrong with this building, and all he knew is that he didn't want to go any place near it. Glancing over at the guard and Klink, he noticed the same hesitation on both of their faces, as if they were also summoning the same courage in order to step inside. Finally all three of them stepped inside the dark building.

Inside was a stark contrast of cleanliness and dark light. The trio found their way to the main desk, where Hogan and the guard hung back as Klink walked up to talk with the balding man standing behind. Hogan strained to hear, but was too far away. Yet, was close enough to hear Klink's yell.

"WAS? _(WHAT?)_" Hogan turned his head and saw Klink swigging his arms wildly obviously chewing out the balding man behind the desk. Curiosity was eating Hogan, but with the multiple guards in the room, any movement by him was careful monitored. He noticed too, that the guard with him, was intently watching Klink, curious as to what was going on. Finally, after several moments, Klink came storming back.

"Weg! Er ist weg! _(Gone! He is gone!)_" Klink yelled. The guard's eyes went wide and confusion crossed his face. Hogan's mouth dropped open, which Klink, to Hogan's good fortune, interpreted as him about to ask a question.

"Gone he's gone!"

"Gone, Kommandant?" Hogan couldn't believe it.

"Yes! Gone! Escaped!"

"What?"

"Was? _(What?)_" The guard was stunned.

"How?"

"Wie ist das möglich? _(What ist hat possible?)_"

"Isch weiß nisch, ob isch das wüste, dann würde er nisch mehr weg sein, oder? _(I don't know, if I know that, then he wouldn't be missing, now would he?)_" Klink rolled his eyes.

„Kommandant. They didn't happen to say just how or when he escaped, did they?"

"Hogan I just explained that to the guard." Klink started walking towards the door. Hogan almost laughed at what he had to say next.

"Um, I don't speak German remember."

"Oh….that's right." Klink stopped and nodded several times. "No. His cell was locked, but he was gone. It is all here in this report, here." He gave Hogan the report before continuing his walk back to the vehicle. Hogan looked down at it. It was half typed in Gothic, and half written in Sütterlin (1). Hogan looked up and down the page for something of use, finding nothing. Starring intently at the handwritten portion, not being able to make hands or tales of what the person actually wrote.

"You don't actually expect me to read this, do you? This isn't even readable. You seriously call this handwriting?" Hogan followed Klink down the staircase.

"Yes, Hogan. That is what is called Handwriting. And I am sorry if you're unable to read it. I will gladly translate it for you when we get to the hotel."

"We aren't heading back tonight?" Hogan was surprised.

"No. I am receiving my new orders here today, and from there will be going to my new assignment."

"What about your things? What about the change over at the Stalag?"

"Why the sudden interest, Hogan?"

"Why, the men care for you, Kommandant. You're like a father-figure to them."

"That's very kind, Hogan," Klink, sat down in the motorcar, "but unnecessary. I am fully capable of collecting my possessions later. And as a career Airman, all I need are my clothes on my back, and wind in my hair."

"Did you pack your hair?"

"Hogaaaaan…."

"Sorry….you left that at the Stalag."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch watched as Hogan, Klink, and one of the guards head out of the gate. He felt for Hogan, he didn't want to imagine what spending hours in the same tiny vehicle as him would be like. _There are at times advantages to not being an officer_. Kinch snickered. Turning around, he headed back towards the Barrack, and towards Hogan's office, knowing that the new Kommandant would be shortly arriving, Kinch wanted to get all the paperwork in the office sorted incase they would be in for the inspection of their lives…._or end of our lives_….Kinch shook himself morbidly.

"'Ey, Kinch!" Kinch turned as Newkirk approached him. "'Ere is the finished report from the Döner Meat Factory Mission from last night. The Moreau brothers just finished working it up. I know the Colonel wants 'ese things first thing, but seein' as 'e is on a torture-mission with ol' Klink, I though I'd give it to ya."

"Thanks, Newkirk. I'm currently going through all the paperwork now. You know. I never though in a million years I would wind up playing secretary in a POW in Germany."

"Well, just think of all the experience ya'll get to put on your CV when you get out." Newkirk grinned as he handed the report over to Kinch. "Radio operator, secretary, bomb maker, tailor, miner, forger,-"

"Thanks, I get the idea." Kinch turned and put the report on a pile of papers he had been collecting from the various hiding places around Hogan's office. "Do you know if all the places in our Barracks are clear?"

"Wha'? Oh, yeah. An' according to the other chief's, their barrackses are clear too."

"Good, I'll just get these down into the-"

"Kinch!" LeBeau came running in. "A car is approaching!" The three men turned and ran out into the common room, Kinch as quick as he could took the last remaining papers and scurried into the tunnels, yelling to those down there that there may be a roll call soon. Dropping the papers on a nearby table he picked up the emergency hand bell and rang it three times, an emergency single that had been newly established, before scampering back up the ladder.

Newkirk was standing outside with the rest of camp watching the scene when Kinch met back up with him.

"Who do you think he is?" Kinch wondered aloud.

"I dunno, mate. But whoever 'e is, e's important. Burkhalter came outta of Klink's office to greet 'im, and there were more medals on 'is uniform than the rest of Germany put together.

"Wonder what a big time war hero is doin' here then?" Andersen commented to Newkirk's left.

"Dunno. But it can't be good." Newkirk shook his head, leading himself and Kinch back into the Colonel's office to listen to the coffeepot. The pot had bearly been plug in a second when Olsen came running in and yanked the two out as the new Kommandant was getting ready for inspection. Quickly unplugging the pot, the three scrambled back out into the late morning light.

Burkhalter, the new Kommandant, and no less than three guards stood facing the crowd of curious men, each sizing the other up. Newkirk smiled inwardly, he knew exactly who this new man was, he had delt with them on the streets of London.

"Prisoners. This is your new Kommandant. As of today, you are no longer under the thumb of Oberst Wilhelm Klink, you are now under Oberstleutnant Rudolf Bähr und your new Sergeant of the Guard is Oberfeldwebel Gustav Bähr. While the pervious Kommandant is normally present for these proceedings, I have taken the liberty of acting upon his behalf." Burkhalter was practically gleaming as he turned to Kommandant Bähr. "I hereby relinquish command of this Stammlager für Kriegsgefangene der Luftwaffe Nummer 13 to you, Oberstleutnant Rudolf Bähr." Burkhalter announced in English, much to the Prisoners surprise.

"I accept." The Kommandant shook Burkhalter's hand.

"Feldwebel Georg Hans Schultz!" Burkhalter spun around looking for the Sergeant when he realized that he wasn't stepping forward. A moment later Schultz came running around the corner from the Guard's barrackses towards the crowd. Burkhalter merely shook his head rolling his eyes. "Feldwebel Schultz. Oberfeldwebel Gustav Bähr."

„Grüß Gott, Oberfeldwebel." Schultz stuck out his hand to shake Oberfeldwebel Bähr's, however Bähr was slightly confused, and waited for a sign from the two officers before putting out his hand. Receiving none, he shrugged and shook Schultz's hand."

"Moin. (2)" The man smiled. Schultz did a double take, before smiling in return.

"Schultz. Wir wart'n. _(We're waiting)_" Burkhalter tapped his foot.

„Wart'n...? Auf wen? _(Waiting...? For whom...?)_"

„Sie! _(You!)_"

„O. Woas mua i' denn tun? _(What do I need to do?)_"

„Tret'n S'e Ihre Befehlsgewalt ab! _(Relinquish your command!)_"

„O. Die, gell? _(That, eh?)_" Schultz straightened up, and coughed a little bit. „I, Georg Hans Schultz, from Bayern, Feldwebel of the Luftwaffe, on this beautiful Morning in-"

"Macht weiter, Feldwebel… _(Hurry up)_" Burkhalter was amused by quickly loosing his patience.

"-Hearby turn the command of the guards over to…. Nochmoi, wia hoassen Sie? _(What's your name again?)_"

"Oberfedlwebel Gustav Bähr."

"Schon gut. _(Good) _To him." Schultz grabbed the man's arm, shaking it again. Burkhalter silently laughed, while Kommandant Bähr looked on in horror.

"Möcht'n Sie ein paar Wörter red'n? _(Would you like to say a few words?)_" Burkhalter asked, bringing the man out of his trance.

"Bitte. Hello Men. There will no Eludes here. Your all last Kommandant was strong, but I am stronger! Here is no mercy! A Elude means dead, and for others much punishment! Understand You! Have you then the war lost! Accept You it! You may play, but never dream! Weggetreten!" Kommandant Bähr turned and starting storming up towards Klink's former office. Burkhalter called Schultz over to him, and the two followed him up the steps. Looking slightly lost, Oberfeldwebel Bähr walked alone towards the guard's barracks, leaving the men of Barracks two alone, as the guards from the other barrackses quickly ushered their own prisoners back into their respected barrackses.

"Well what do you think, guys? Pretty interesting huh?" Olsen huddled in towards the mass of men.

"I for one like 'is English. Beautiful pronunciation, 'orrible grammar." Newkirk took out a cigarette and started smoking on it.

"Why? Remind you of your own?" LeBeau laughed.

"And you 'ave better grammar, LeBeau?"

"Oui! In three languages."

"I 'ope one of those isn't German, Louis….._das_ Essen (3)….mmm?"

"Tais-toi, Peter. _(Shut up, Peter)_"

"Hey I don't mean to break up the pow-wow here, but shouldn't someone be listening to the coffeepot?" Andersen spoke up looking at everyone.

"Where's Kinch?" LeBeau asked, momentarily distracted from his ongoing bickering with Newkirk. The men looked at each other, and then around them, before all storming into the barrack and then trying to squeeze into Hogan's office.

"Lemme through!"

"Stop stepping on my foot!"

"Hush up, everyone!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! That's my spine being squished against the doorframe!" The men tried to squish into the office. Kinch was sitting quietly listening to the coffeepot, completely focused on what was being said on the other-side. Looking up at the men he made a motion with his finger and lips to silent everyone, the effect was immediate.

_"-München."_

_"München, Herr General?"_

_"München, Feldwebel. Sie würd'n als Wache der Universität, und machen die __Umgebungsüberwachung. In der Stadt, gibt's ne Untergrundgruppe, die Die Weiße Rose( __4)__ heißt. Würd'n Sie als Wache die verbotene Flugblätter klaubm arbeit'n. Würden Sie schon auch zur gestapo melden, wenn Sie ‚was hör'n. __(__**You will be working as the Guard at the University, and monitering the surrounding area. In the city, there is an underground group, known as The White Rose. You will be collecting the forbidden leaflets they produce. You will also be reporting to the gestapo anything you hear.)**_"

_„Ein Müllmann? (__**A Rubbish collector?)**__" _

_„_They're sending, Schultz to Munich!" LeBeau screamed.

"He's going to be investigating Die Weiße Rose!" Doe gasped.

"What are we going to do, Kinch? If Schultz is sent to Munich, and with Klink off who knows where, will we be able to continue our travel agency?" Olsen asked. The question hung in the air a moment.

"I dunno, Olsen. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The Colonel should be back no later than tomorrow. Till then, we lie low, and feel this new Kommandant out, and his new Sergeant of the Guard."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Word spread quickly of what was happening with Schultz. The normally upbeat prisoners were depressed. The guards, who normally would have caught on to the change in mood and activity, were too preoccupied with the change-over, and giving Schultz a farewell party to notice. This gave each prisoner a chance to sit himself down freely and try and figure out a solution to the monumental problem that loomed before them.

Schultz leaving was hitting LeBeau and the other French prisoners fairly hard. It surprised LeBeau how much he realized that he cared for the guard. _I hope this isn't some type of Stockholm Syndrome. _He laughed. Thinking of just how long he had known the man. It was hard to believe that he was one of the first prisoners, having been captured shortly after France was invaded. _Difficult to believe it will be two years soon…_ Thinking back, he even remembered when they moved to Stalag Luft 13 from the previous camp, and Klink had taken over as the new Kommandant. Sighing, LeBeau tried to push the memories from his mind and focus on making Schultz some farewell strudel for the road. _Heh. If only we could all escape….that would show the new…._LeBeau dropped the spoon into the pan. He suddenly had an idea.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Kinch's head was hanging down against his chest. He was utterly depressed. Starring at his watch again, he prayed that Colonel Hogan would march in through the door at any second to take over this doomed command. _I guess I should start writing my farewell letters since this is the end of the line. After this, this will truly be a POW camp._ Kinch was trying to wrap his mind around a way out of the situation. _There must be something that he could do to get Schultz from being sent to Munich. Maybe a fire? No. What good would that do? Where did that idea come from? Burning something, no, Kinchy old boy, you are really losin' it….Oh my gosh something burning! _Kinch jumped outta of the chair slamming his right knee on Hogan's desk as he did so.

"OW!" Limping over, he saw a Dazed LeBeau starring off into space, and the three prisoners around him, frantically trying to put out the smoke and fire from the strudel, or former strudel, that he had been cooking on the stove. The other prisoners upon hearing the screaming from the three came pouring in from outside, and those already in the barracks backed away, afraid of being hit by wet towels and shirts.

"LeBeau! LeBeau!" Kinch ran up to him. "Louis! Hello! Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? Parle à moi! _(What's wrong ? Talk to me !)_ Kinch stook him by the shoulders, causing LeBeau to come back to his senses.

"Hmmmhein? _(Hmmmwhat?)_" LeBeau screamed. "Mon strudel! Ma belle, strudel belle! Ruiné! Non! Non, non, non! C'est terrible! C'était mon cadeau d'adieu à Schultz! Maintenant, que vais-je faire? Je n'ai pas plus de sucre, et il est horriblement rationnés, et-" _(My strudel! __My beautiful, beautiful strudel! Ruined! No! No, no, no! This is terrible! It was my farewell gift to Schultz! Now, what shall I do? I have no more sugar, and it is horribly rationed, and-)_

"Louis!" LeBeau turned towards Kinch. "Forget the strudel for a moment. What just happened. You never burn anything. Ever. Not even Newkirk's food. What happened?"

"Oh Kinch, I just had an idea. What if everyone were to escape? They can't have a prisoner of war camp if no one is here. And if Schultz just happens to find us, all the better."

"That's a great idea, it really is…."

"But what, Kinch?"

"Schultz is leaving tomorrow."

"So we go tonight, Kinch." Olsen jumped off his bunk.

"I'm game." Doe chimed in. "I'd be happy to break Smith outta the cooler. We just need to dig a few more feet and figure out how to get through the walls. Should be simple.

"I'm up for it." Andersen added.

"Me too, mate." Newkirk smiled.

"I dunno, guys. The Colonel is gonna be back tomorrow. He could be in a lot of trouble if no-one is here."

"'Ow much trouble can 'e be in, mate? It's obvious 'at no-one consulted 'im. 'At we just went all balmy an' left. End of story. 'Sides. Our Kommandant up there. 'E's a big pushover. I know 'em anywhere. They were all over London. Mates w'o talk big, shove others around, but are big chickens 'emselves."

"Are you sure Newkirk? We are taking a big chance if what you say is true. All of us could end up with a very unpleasant ending if this doesn't work out."

"Positive, mate." Newkirk played with his boxes of cigarettes. Kinch sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, pacing a bit. He wished he could open the door or windows. But he didn't want the meeting to be heard. Looking over that the sentry at the door, he sighed again.

"Alright. Get the barracks chiefs over here pronto. I want a meeting with all of them before we do this. Every man must be in on it or it's a no go. If someone isn't comfortable. I'm not going to push it on them. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Kinch." The barracks murmured, before each man ran off to his assigned barracks number which he was to inform of the meeting.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The last chief had just walked out the door when Schultz came sauntering into the barrack. His bulk slumping sadly down onto the bench at the centre of the room.

"Hi fellas."

"'Ey, Schultz. I 'eard you are goin' back to Munich. That's great. Aren't you from there?" Newkirk hopped off Carter's top bunk where he had been enjoying looking down at the rest of the room.

"Yes, I am. And that is the worst news ever!"

"Why, you'll be close to home then, won't you?"

"Yes. I will get to go home every night to my wife."

"Oh. I'm, uh, sorry to hear that?"

"You do not know my wife. Be glad."

"You have kids though, don't you, Schultzie?" LeBeau tried to cover up the burnt strudel in the corner with a towel.

"Yes. Four of them. Three boys and a girl. Is that….Struuuuudel I smell?"

"Um, officially yes, Schultzie, and technically no." LeBeau uncovered the plate.

"It is! Why is it burned?"

"Fire will do that."

"You were preparing me for my wife's cooking. How thoughtful. And how dreadful."

"You're uh, welcome, Schultz." LeBeau looked at Newkirk and shrugged.

"Tell me Schultz." Olsen walked over. "Just what will you be doin' in Munich?"

"I'm sorry that is top secret."

"Okay then." Olsen stretched and took out a chocolate bar. "Mmm. Man I wish my mom would stop sending me these from home. I wonder if our new Kommandant likes them, or our new Sergeant of the Guard. Do you know Schultzie? Nah I don't suppose you do." Schultz's eyes went wide. As he went for the chocolate.

"I do know. And I happen to know that neither one likes it. The Kommandant is a big shot. A big time war hero. He was sent here because Berlin is tired of him disobeying orders. He is a loose bullet. And his son-"

"His son?"

"Yes, his son was sent here upon his request. He was suppose to go to Siberia." Schultz gobbled up the chocolate.

"Tell me, Schultz." Kinch walked over. "What would happen if you didn't go to Munich?"

"Mimd mo mu Mümshm?" Schultz said with his mouth full of the candy bar. He paused a moment before swallowing. "I'd be shot."

"Besides that."

"Sent to Siberia?"

"Besides that."

"I dunno?"

"Would they keep you here?"

"Away from my wife? I hope so!"

"You know Schultz. I was just thinking," Kinch laid his left hand on the guard's shoulder, if I were you, and I wanted to keep my job, I would stay vigilant, since a change over would make prisoners unhappy, and want to escape. You know, maybe go to a local barn, or hide in a local pub, or even, check out the local caves around here. That sort of thing." Kinch led him towards the door.

"You're not unhappy are you, Seargent Kinchloe?"

"What do you think, Schultz?"

"I'm thinking….I don't want to think." Schultz turned and walked across the compound back towards the guard's barrackses.

"What do you think, Kinch. Will he bite?"

"He will. Even if we have to clamp his mouth open and shut with our bare hands."

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

(1) The OLD type of Handwriting. It was dropped around the 1950s. It looks REALLY weird to my generation, and (don't feel bad, Hogan) even I can't read it.

(2 ) Just a side note. Remember how I said that Schultz is from Bayern? Well they usually say, "Grüß Gott" for Hello. In North Germany, a common Hello is "Moin". So it would be like someone from Australia saying "G'day Mate" to someone from Ireland.

(3 ) Pilot Episode. LeBeau walks in and saids, „Der Essen". Hogan corrects him in front of everyone in a tone of voice stating that he is obviously tried of correcting him, with „_Das_ Essen_." Ein Käfig voller Helden. _

(4) A real resistance group that operated in München/Munich during the war from 1942-1943, before being caught by the gestapo. They were university students that produced leaflets and are considered some of the greatest heroes of the war.


	13. Chapter 13

Hogan sighed as he watched Klink talk with the clerk behind the desk as he assigned them a room. The guard to Hogan's left look bored, looking around the nearly empty lobby. Hogan fiddled with the chains around his wrists a bit, seeing if he couldn't somehow manage to squeeze his hands out of them if he had to. A moment later Klink returned with a key in hand.

"Alright, Hogan! I have the key to our rooms! I will have my own room, and you and your lovely friend will be sharing another. Tomorrow, the two of you will return back to Stalag Luft 13, and I shall move onto my next assignment-"

"In Siberia?"

"Schnauze, Hogan! I mean, if I am sent….to…..die in the snow…..for my country….then, then…..that is what I….shall….d-do….."

"Such courage, Willi, such courage."

"Now we are on the 2nd floor. Oh, sorry, that is the 3rd floor to you, Americans." Klink laughed. Hogan rolled his eyes, and started to follow Klink with the guard behind him. To his right, he caught a glimpse of a man at the desk.

"Danke, Herr Hauptmann. Einen schönen Tag. _(Thank you Captain. Have a nice day.)_"

„Gleichfalls. _(You too.)_" The man turned, and made eye contact with Hogan before his eyes went wide and he dashed towards the door. Hogan froze a moment, before turning, and started to run after him. His personal guard, believing he was making a break for it, ran and caught Hogan's arm, causing both of them to go tumbling to the floor with a loud, painful, THUD!

"NO! Don't let him get away!" Hogan screamed, thrashing around trying to get up, but the guard had him pinned to the floor. Klink startled by the whole activity finally made his way over.

"Hogan, what is going on here? You can't escape just because you are outside the wire, and Schultz isn't here."

"No, Willi! It was Carter! Someone! Go get him! Before it's to late! That was Carter! That was Carter!" Hogan continued to struggle, but was still painfully pinned beneath the guard's weight.

The receptionist, who had been watching the entire incident, made his way over to the scene, waving Klink over to his side, and whispered, confused as to what was going on. Klink laughed, explaining what was going on. The man joined in.

"Ein Ami? Hahaha! Das war Hauptmann Hauptmann! Er hat übergenachtet. _(An American? __That was Captain Hauptmann. He spent the night.)_" The man laughed with Klink.

„See, Colonel Hogan? That wasn't Sergeant Carter. That was Hauptmann Hauptmann. Now, come, I want to be fresh when my son arrives. He wasn't able to visit me in the Lager, so he is visiting me here instead." Klink walked towards and up the stairs.

Hogan fumed for a moment. He knew that was Carter! _Hauptmann _Hauptmann_? What kind of ridiculous name was that? Carter must have come here to spend the night before moving on to….._Hogan had no idea. He certainly is resourceful. _Would make an excellent member to the team _if_ he _was_ one of us. _Hogan daydreamed as the guard yanked him to his feet and shoved him with the butt of his rifle towards the stairs. _Now if only I could find him to make sure he never is resourceful to anyone else. _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Schwester Anne Mauth had just gotten off duty and was still wearing her Deutsches Rotes Kreuz nursing uniform, as she pulled on her light jacket before unlocking her bicycle. Glancing up at the sky, she realized it was later than she had intended and prayed that she would make it home before curfew started. Pushing off she started cycling. Her legs felt heavy from standing in surgery all day, but still she considered herself lucky to still be in a civilian hospital instead being forced onto the front line like most of her friends who were Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (1).

Turning down the next street towards her shortcut through the Stadtpark, she saw a figure obviously bent over in pain. Anne briefly considered bypassing him, but she couldn't morally do it. Glancing at her watch, she stopped cycling next to the figure.

"Entschuldigung, ist alles aber in Ordnung? _(Sorry, but is everything alright?)_" Anne wanted for a response. The Man glanced up, in the dim light of the half moon, she could see that he was wearing a gestapo uniform, and she gasped silently.

"Ja….ja…." He moaned, slumping to the ground. Schwester Anne had a decision to make. Should she help the stranger, and risk being home late and possibly being put in prison, or leave the man, and then risk being possibly put in prison? The seconds turned to millennia in her mind as the war raged inside. Deciding that she would rather be put in prison with a clear conscious, she slide off her bicycle and helped the man to his feet.

"Bitte, ich bin Krankenschwester. Sie sind verletzt. _(Please, I'm a nurse. You're injured.)_" She slid herself under his arm. "Wir gehen ins Krankenhaus. _(We'll go to hospital.)_"

"NO!" The man yelled. "Nein! Nein." Anne cocked her head towards him.

"Engländer? _(English?)_" She helped him lean on the handlebars, as she pulled off her white nurse's cap-wrap and started to tie it around his leg. She received no response. "Amerikaner? _/American?)_" Still no response. "Tja. Okay. Sie sind Deutscher. Sie sind auch verletzt. Wenn Sie nich' ins Krankenhaus gehen wollen, dann könnten Sie gerne mit mir nach Hause kommen. _(Well. Okay. You're German. YOu are also injred. __If you do not wish to go to hospital, than you may gladly come home with me.)_" The man looked a bit nervous, but nodded.

„Danke."

„Darf ich dir bitte ´was heißen? _(Is there something I may call you?)_"

„Hauptmann, Hauptmann Hauptmann."

„Tja, Herr Hauptmann, ich bin Schwester Anne Mauth. _(Well, Captain, I am __Schwester__ [Nurse] Anne Mauth.)_" She shook his hand, and helped him lean on her handlebars and lead him towards her flat.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan leaned against the wall of the room trying to hear what was being said in the next room. However all he could make out was the distinct tone of the different voices. The low steady tone of the Luftwaffe Leutnant handing Klink his new assignment and answering his questions, and the high pitch ramblings mixed with the metaphorical sounds of General's boots being licked that represented Klink's voice. Giving up, Hogan crossed the small room to one of the beds and laid down. His personal guard-buddy was asleep on the bed next to him.

_If I wanted to escape, now would really be the time to do it_. Hogan laughed to himself. _It would be a shame though, way to easy._ The sound of a door being shut, and footsteps echoing down the hall, brought Hogan out of his thoughts. He got up and went to cross the door, opening it, the Guard, whom Hogan still hadn't bothered to learn his name, jumped up with the reflexes of a cheetah and slammed the door shut before hand had even finished turning the handle.

"Sorry. You can't leave yet, Colonel Hogan."

"Look, Fritzy-"

"Gefreiter Mann!" The Guard said. Hogan raised his eyebrows and glanced at the sleeves on the man's shirt.

"Huh, you're right. You really are only a Gefrieter. I thought you just lost some of your stripes somewhere. Gee, am I really only worth a Gefreiter looking after me? I guess I'll have to do something about that." Hogan smiled innocently.

"Please just go and sit in the chair, Colonel Hogan. I haven't been assigned long at the Lager. But I know you know Tricks. So please for both of us. Just sit. And we can both survive this war? Yes?" Mann sighed tiredly leaning on the door.

"Fair enough, I only wanted to speak with Komman-" Hogan's sentence was interrupted by the sound of small feet running quickly up the hall and pounding on the door.

"VATI! _(Daddy!)_"

"Heinrich!" The door quickly closed.

"Klink's son, I presume?"

"That would be correct." Mann crossed his arms. There was a long pause between the two men.

"Ever met him?" Hogan asked breaking the tension.

"No. He lives with his uncle I understand." The men got quiet again, as the minutes went by. Hogan shifted his weight, aching to get passed Mann and out the door.

"Ah. I see. I would like to meet him. I never get to meet anyone new." Mann looked skeptical at Hogan as if trying to make up his mind whether or not he was lying, and then shrugging, picked up his rifle and dragged Hogan next door to Klink's quarters. Knocking, Klink took a moment in answering.

"Was ist denn los? Sie stören! _(What is going on? You're disturbing!)_" As Mann explained to Klink their purpose in knocking, Hogan glanced around the room, sitting at a small table swinging his legs and playing with a chess piece was a small boy in a school uniform. Reluctantly, Klink nodded.

"Tja, herein kommen. _(Oh alright, come-in.)_" Klink turned around. "Heinrich. Bitte komm hierher! _(Come here please!)_" The small boy, who looked to be about 5, jumped off the chair and crossed the room. "Heinrich, Colonel Hogan, Hogan, Heinrich."

"Hallo Herr Hogan."

"Hello Heinrich." Heinrich looked at him, and then ran back towards the chess game, climbing up onto the chair, where he sat on his knees leaning over the board. Hogan smiled. Klink pulled Mann aside and started talking to him, glancing at Hogan, the two stepped out of the room, leaving Hogan alone with the boy. Putting his ear to the door, he tried to listen, but with no success, he looked around for the new assignment papers that Klink should have received, seeing none, he decided to try the boy, Hogan sat down across from Heinrich and talk to him.

"Hallöchen, Kleine. Spielst du gerne Schach? _(Hey there buddy. Do you like to play chess?)_"

"Nein." The boy began swinging his legs, playing with the rook. "Isch weiß nisch' wie zu spielen, aber mein Vati findet es sehr gern. _(I dunno how to play, but my daddy likes it.)_"

„Das stimmt. Dein Vater und ich spielen sehr oft. _(That's right. Your father and I play quite often.)_"

"Du bist denn Freunde? _(Are you friends?)_" The boy cocked his head, and played the rook on top of it, seeing if it would balance. Hogan paused a moment before answering.

"Ja…wir sind Freunde. _(Yeah...we're friends.)_"

"Aber du bist Gefängener? _(But you're a prisoner?)_"

"Du weißt das? _(You know that?)_"

"Ja. Du bist Ami. _(Yep. You're an American.)_"

"Das stimmt. Und du bist Deutscher. _(That's right. __And you are a German.)_" The boy tried to touch his nose with his tongue. Stopping he looked up at Hogan.

"Du bist nisch' ein Monster. _(You aren't a monster.)_"

"Hoffenlich bin ich nicht! _(I would hope not!)_" Hogan smiled.

"Aber….die Wochenschau... sie sagt, dass die Amis und die Tommys, die Monsters sind. Du siehst nisch' wie ein Monster. _(But…the Wochenschau (__2)__…it says, that the Americans, and the British, that they are monsters. You don't look like a Monster.)_" The boy sat back up on his knees, placed both hands on the chess board, leaned close so he no more than 10 centimetres away, and looked Hogan directly in the face, as if studying him, looking for fangs or horns, or something that resembled a monster. Hogan paused, unsure of what to say.

„Na...die...Leute...Regierung...die...was ich meine...manchmals...Propaganda ist nich immer richtig. _(Well...the...people...government...they...what I mean...sometimes...propaganda isn't always correct.)_"

"Was ist Propaganda? _(What's propaganda?)_" Heinrich leaned back, and looked curiously at Hogan. Hogan again paused.

"Was Leute will andere zu glauben. _(What people want others to believe.)_"

„O." Heinrich stood on the chair. And then on one foot. The chair began to wobble.

"Watch out!" Hogan yelled as the boy fell sideways onto the ground. Hogan ran to the side to see in the boy was hurt, but Heinrich was smiling. "Are you okay? I, I mean, bist du- (are you-)"

"I'm okay."

"You…speak English?"

"Yes, and Polski _(Polish)_, and русски _(__Russian)_!"

"Russian?"

"Yes, Muti _(Mummy) _teaches me. She says it will be soon nützlich! _(useful)_"

"Well, I can't argue with your mother's logic." Hogan shook his head amused. Heinrich stood up and starting hopping around the room like a rabbit, Hogan placed the chair back up in the correct position at the table.

"I'm Rabbit!"

"Heinrich….do you know where your father's next assignment is?"

"What's "assignment"?

"Where he is going next?"

"Ohhhh….he is going to Polen_ (Poland)_! He will be ummm…."

"He will be what?" Hogan's watched the boy stop jumping, and think really hard.

"Er wirdt noch Kommandant sein! Aber beim Gefängnis für Gefangener, die von Russland sind! _(He will still be a Kommandant! But at a Prisoner of War Camp for Prisoners from Russia!)_" Heinrich started jumping again. Hogan slumped down on the bed.

"Do you know where in Poland?"

"No. Wanna hear me speak Polski?" Heinrich climbed up onto Hogan's lap.

"No, not right now, but I may have you teach me some…"

"You wanna go to Polen?"

"No, not really. But I may have to…."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think you're father is going to get himself out of this on his own."

"Muti is Polski!" Heinrich smiled.

"I know." Hogan returned the smile.

"She is from Szczecin."

"Wait. I thought that is part of Germany now….?" Hogan was confused.

"Muti says it's still Polski, and it will stay Polski! Egal was _(Regardless what) _the Deutsche do!" Heinrich stood up proud.

"Well, who am I to argue with the Poles? Are you sure you don't know what Prison camp? I didn't think there were any for the Luftwaffe there…." Heinrich shrugged.

"I just know that Vati isn't happy and wants to play Schach. And Schach is boring." Hogan and Heinrich turned as the door opened and Klink and Gefreiter Mann walked back in.

"Alright Hogan, you've met my son, now it is time for you to go back to your own room."

"Alright Kommandant. Say, did they tell you where you are being transferred? I just want to make sure I have the address right for where in Siberia you will be heading."

"Hogan, I am not going to the Russian front for your information."

"No…they finally made you a General?"

"Hogan…OUT!" Mann grabbed Hogan's arm and dragged him back to his own room. Hogan's mind was at full steam. He had to find out where Klink was being transferred.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Roll call was never something that LeBeau partially enjoyed. Standing for an hour in a straight line, at times longer while each barrack was counted by a guard, and then the numbers were checked and doubled checked to make sure every prisoner was there. However that evening, he decided it went from being dislikeable, to downright, detestable.

The new Kommandant, aside from having each barrack be counted, decided to move all the prisoners into barrackses with their own nationalities. The English with their own, the Americans with their own, the Canadians, the Australians, the New Zealanders, the Dutch, the Danes, the French, and so on down the line. Anyone who was of a nationality had to be with their own, and if there was any left over, they got put into a mish-mash barrack.

LeBeau stood in his own personal line outside Barrack 2, which was next to Newkirk's British Prisoner line, which was next to the American line, all in front of the door, waiting for the new Kommandant to appear. Oberfeldwebel Bähr passed in front of the large group waiting for his father. He never appeared. Finally Bähr began to get frustrated and marched up into the office a minute later he returned. Waiting patiently, the Kommandant appeared standing on the steps of the office, looking at the prisoners. Snapping his fingers, a few guards came with planks of wood and created a system of wood for him to walk out on to the middle of the ground. Kommandant Bähr glanced around at the hundreds of eyes starring back at him.

"You are all failures. You have lost the war. Each day will you more Hoping lost. Sergeant Kyle James Nickels! I have you catched, Kaugummi chewing and throwing it in my garden. For this heinous lawbreaking, become you 90 days in the Arrestzelle! Everyone, weggetreten!" He turned around and marched back inside.

"I think 'is English is improvin'…" Newkirk commented, leaning back on his heels, watching the man walk back to the office.

"I think you're right, mate. But what they say. You use it or you lose it." The Brit next o Newkirk laughed.

"I think 'e's already lost it, long ago." Newkirk laughed. The members of each barracks started to return to their respective homes when each respective guard block their way, Langenscheidt blocking the door to Barracks two. Oberfeldwebel Bähr stood out in front, and began to read a list of names.

"Abel, Michael Nicholas, Private US, Barrack 9, Adens, Peter Sean Sergeant US, Barrack 21…" he began to read each and every name. The names dragged on, and on, each man fidgeting, waiting for it to be over. "-sa list fill be posted on sa bulletin board. Sa changes fill happen immediately. Dismissed!" Bähr walked off towards the guard's quarters, having no desire to stay around for the changing of the barracks.

There was a sudden mob hounding Kinch as the members of barracks two were digesting the sudden and strange change of events. None of them except Doe would be staying in the barracks, everyone else would be moving.

"What are we going to do, Kinch?"

"Are we still on for tonight, Kinch?"

"Are we allowed to bring our stuff?"

"Will the operation still be going on?"

"What are your orders, Kinch?"

"Do you know if we can tell the Red Cross about this?"

"When is the Colonel coming back?"

"Do I have to room with my fellow countrymen?"

"Alright, Alright! Simmer down!" Kinch yelled as he climbed up on top of a bench. "Yes. To all of your questions. ALL of your questions. Do I make myself clear? Yes, we will DO what it takes TONIGHT. So if you had pervious plans, that's okay. Just DO what you would have done BEFORE. Got it?" The crowd murmured in agreement. The plan was still on as it was before.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Schwester Anne managed to get to her flat just in time to see the patrols started their rounds on the streets checking for people out after curfew. Securing her bicycle, she helped the Hauptmann Hauptmann towards the front door, using her key to open it, she assisted him up the numerous flights of stairs to her flat. Once again using the key she pushed open the door.

It was a tiny flat, consisting of a half kitchen and bedroom which was also a living room. Anne helped the man lay down on sofa she had tucked in a corner and preceded to retrieve a first aid kit. Speaking to him softly she removed the now soaked cap, and cut his trousers with a pair of scissors. Grabbing a packet of sulfa she ripped it open.

"…könnte _(could)_" and "…..schmerzen _(hurt)_…." were the only words Hauptmann managed to make out as she poured it on his leg. He clamped down on his tongue as hard as he could to keep from crying out, tasting the blood as he did so. Anne, finished pouring it on, and was putting a dressing on top.

"Dann….sind wir denn fertig. _(There...we're finished.)_"

„D-Danke..." Hauptmann panted. Anne nodded, slightly nervous.

"Ähm, möchten Sie jemand anrufen, und sagen, dass Sie hier sind? _(Um, would you like to ring someone, and say that you are here?)_"

„Nein. Aber, danke. _(No. But thank you.)_" Hauptmann glanced around the room, obviously uncomfortable. Anne nodded nervous, wringing her hands.

"Tja. Morgen sollten Ihr Bein besser sein, und könnten Sie denn gerne gehen, wenn Sie wollen. _(Um. Tomorrow your leg should be better, and you may gladly leave if you so wish.)_"

„Ich bedanke mich. _(Thank you.)_"

„Tja...na gut. _(Um…okay.)_" Anne fidgeted with the supplies as she put them away. "Haben Sie Hunger. _(Are you hungry?)_"

"Riesig. _(__Starving__.)_"

"Ich koche 'was. _(I'll cook something.)_" She stood up, and closed the door to the bedroom, and went into the kitchen. Walking over she got out what little she had, a few potatoes, some sauerkraut, and two eggs. Trying to think of anything she could make with them, Anne, stepped out and grabbed the phone in the hallway. Seeing the door still closed on her guest in the bedroom/living area, she dialled her friend's number.

"Schreiber."

"Christiane?"

"Anne?"

"Bitte. Christiane. Ich glaube, dass ihren Bruder bei mir ist. _(Please. Christiane. I believe your brother is visiting me.)_"

„Mein Bruder? _(My brother?)_"

„Stimmt. Und er ist verletzt. _(Yes. And he is hurt.)_"

"Ach schade. _(Oh how terrible.)_"

"Bitte kannst du ihn bitte abholen? _(Could you please come and retrieve him?)_"

„Gerne. Wann willst du mich kommen? _(Gladly. When do you want me to come?)_"

"Sofort. _(__Immediately__.)_"

"Gerne. Bis gleich. _(Of course. See you soon.)_"

"Bis gleich. _(See you soon.)_" Anne hung up the phone, and returned to the kitchen to continue working on the food. It made her feel safer knowing that the man in the next room would soon be being taken care of by her friends in the resistance.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

(1) Random history note. Unlike the Allies, Germany did NOT employ women in the military during the war (later there were exceptions, such as anti-aircraft gunners). In America and England, nurses could be part of the Army or Navy for example. In WWII Germany, all nurses were civilians who just "happened" to be sent off to treat the wounded (whether or not they wanted to be), but they were still civilians. Der Bart wanted to militarize the Red Cross for his own sick purposes, directly against Switzerland's directives of what the Red Cross stood for.

(2) Sorry guys. No idea how to translate this. It was like the news/propaganda film they used to play in cinemas.


	14. Chapter 14

The men at Stalag Luft 13 were on edge. As the guards came to turn the lights off, they felt strange laying in another's buck instead of their own. Thankfully, they noted, they didn't have to wait long.

Since the change over in barracks was a complete surprise to them, "probably deliberate, to keep us from digging tunnels in our barracks_"_, one prisoner commented. The exit from the camp suddenly became more difficult. Each man had been assigned either an exit through the tunnel, or in charge of making a hole in the fence. With the change in barracks, the ability to get to their designated spot suddenly increased in challenge. From up above, the scene played out much like a pinball machine, with prisoners running in several different directions, attempting to get to their place in the wire. Had the guards bothered to watch, they would have had a true show on their hands, as the men collided, and scattered along the compound. However, the guards were too busy listening to Oberfeldwebel Bähr ramble about time as a football player before the war, and secretly listening to the BBC, to notice.

Kinch was the last person through the hole in the wire. He quickly did a survey check of the camp making sure nothing was out of place. Silently praying that they could pull this off with no one getting hurt, he picked himself up and ran off into the woods, leaving the searchlights, still searching the night for something out of place. It would be morning before anyone would realize that all the prisoners had broken out through 50 different holes strategically placed in the wire.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Anne kept pacing as she cooked the food. Although she, herself was starving, she handed the majority over to the strange captain sitting in her living area/bedroom. He thanked her kindly before eating in complete silence. This gave Anne a chance to get a better look at him.

He was young, early twenties was her best guess. And he didn't seem to have the attitude that usually companied someone in the gestapo. Looking further, she saw that he had recently been in a scrape, and seemed worn out, with the dark circles under his eyes. Eating the plate he handed it back to her.

"Danke Schwester. _(Thank you Sister/Nurse.)_"

"Mach' nichts. _(Not a problem.)_" She carried the plate back to the kitchen, returning and sitting on her bed looking at him.

"Darf ich Ihnen fragen, woher Sie kommen? _(May I ask where are you from?)_" Anne leaned forward a bit. Hauptmann's eyes went wide in terror.

"Um, no, uh, nein!" He sputtered. Anne nodded slowly.

"In Ordnung. Darf ich fragen, woher Sie die Verletzung bekommen haben? _(Alright. May I ask where did you receive your injury?)_"

„Ummmm..." Hauptmann stalled. Thankful for the knock on the door, although his heart immediately jumped into this chest, Hauptman breathed a sigh of relief at advoiding the question. He prayed that it was no one and that he could get out of that room quickly and on his way. He watched as Anne stood up, and walked towards the main door, opening it. From his position he could see a man and woman, both in their mid-late twenties. Greeting each other she let them in.

"Herr Hauptmann? Hier ist die Christiane und der Jan Schreiber. _(Captain? This is __Christiane__ and Jan Schreiber.)_"

„Freut mich. _(A pleasure to meet you.)_" Christiane and Jan smiled.

"Ja…gleichfalls…. _(Yeah… you too.)_"Hauptmann looked between them nervously.

"Herr Hauptmann….ich frage mich...könnten Sie mir bitte erklären, was Sie für ‚nen Dienst tun? _(Captain…I was wondering…. could you please explain to me what you do for your service (__1)__?)_" Jan sat down on the bed. Hauptmann's eyes went wide in Terror again. Jan waited patiently.

"Ich…um…..Ich…..mache…..etwas... _(I... um... I... do... stuff...)_"

„Tja...und, was für ‚etwas'? Ich bin wirklich interessiert. _(Okay... und what kind of 'stuff'? I am really interested.)_"

„Um..."

„Tja in Ordnung, Streng Geheim, oder? _(Well it's okay, Top Secret, huh?)_" Jan laughed. Hauptmann just smiled nervously. Jan beckoned Chrsitiane and Anne into the other room, closing the door behind him.

"Ein Tommy. Oder Ami. Bin ich nich' sicher. _(A Brit. Or American. I'm not quite sure.)_"

„Wirklich? Bist du ganz sicher? Aber was könnten wir denn tun? Wir müssen ihn nach England oder die Schweiz bald schicken. Er darf hier nich' bleiben. _(Really? Are you absolutely sure? But what can we do? We need to quickly send him to England or Switzerland. He is not allowed to stay here.))_" Anne was near panic.

„Stimmt. Okay, Christiane liebing... _(Alright. Okay, Christiane darling...)_"

"Ja, Jan. Das geht. _(It's okay.)_"

"Danke, ich lieb' dich. _(Thank you, I love you.)_"

"Ich weiß. _(I know.)_"

"Wir nehmen ihn. Wir kennen Leute…. _(We'll take him. __We know people….)_"

„Danke Jan, Christiane." Anne finally let out the breath she was holding since she first found the man. The three walked back into the other room.

"Herr Hauptmann?" Jan sat down on the bed again, facing him, their knees were close to touching. He looked him directly in the face. "Bist du Kaugummifresser (2)? _(Are you an American?)_" Hauptmann looked at him completely confused.

"Was? _(What?)_"

"Kaugummifresser?"

"Um…..uhhhh…..ich….well…ummm..." Hauptmann again tried to stall.

„Are you Tommy?" Christiane asked for the first time since she was introduced. Hauptmann's eyes widened, this time in alarm that he may be in danger. "Please, are you Ami? It's okay. Fe are friends."

"Wenn Sie Ami oder Tommy sind, ist das mit uns in Ordnung. _(If you are an American or a Brit, that is alright with us.)_" Anne added. Hauptmann glanced from one to the other completely lost as to what to say. Finally he sighed, and decided to answer, praying he wouldn't end up killing him.

"Yes. I am." He watched their faces, relief washed over them.

"Alright. It is too dangerous hair to stay. Fe fill move you tonight. Fe hav a safe house. Fe can you to Switzerlant." Christiane glanced out the window onto the dark street below.

"Please, I want to go back to England." The man pleaded with her. She paused a moment and looked at Jan. He nodded.

"Alright…, but sat is not sa normal route from hair. From hair sa men usually go straight South. Eynglant to get to ist verwey difficult. And sa is only one fay I know to get you to Eynglant..."

"How is that?"

"I'm sorry. I cannot give you more information sat you need to know, it is too dangerous. I don't even know sa woute."

"How will I know I am in the right spot?" He asked starting to get excited and panic all at the same time.

Anne walked out of the room, wishing not to hear the information in case she or her friends ended up being caught, and shutting the door behind her. Jan took over the spot at the window, turning off the light. Christiane faced the man in the dark.

"Each checkpoint fill ask you a specific kvestion. If you answer correctly you fill live. Now tell me. How familiar are you fis sa story of Goldilocks and sa Swee Bears?"

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The next morning made its way slowly over the landscape of the troubled country, its sunlight dancing along the trees, rooftops, and hills until it gradually made its presence known to Oberfeldwebel Gustav Bähr. Bähr rolled over in his bunk, before sitting up to glance at his clock. It was still too early for roll call, but seeing the light had woken him, he decided to get up anyways.

Putting on his soft cap instead of the helmet, as he was not yet on duty, Bähr slowly strolled along the inside of the guard's portion of the compound. He watched intrigued as he saw Feldwebel Georg Hans Schultz sadly climb into the back of a LKW. The man glanced over his shoulder at the camp behind him, before finally sitting down. A guard to the left of the lorry pounded twice signalling to the driver that he could start on his journey. The lorry turned and started heading towards the gate. Bähr watched it exit, feeling guilty that he had taken the guard's role as Sergeant of the Guard. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he kicked a rock. There was nothing he could do, so why bother getting upset over it. His father wanted him in this position, if anyone was to blame it was him. _Besides, if Schultz didn't leave I would be one a way one ticket to Stalingrad_. Bähr turned and started to stroll in the early morning light towards the main compound with all the prisoner's barrackses. He glanced up and down the silent rows, wishing that like the prisoners, he was still asleep. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, _I hope no one saw me do that, the last thing I need is to be in trouble_, he did a slight walk around the perimeter wire. He looked up and down, and about, not at anything particular, until, something caught his eye.

"Wat is' denn dat? _(What ist that?)_" Bähr walked up to something shinny sticking out in the dim early morning light. "Is' dat….Ach du Schiet! _(Is that…oh shit!)_" Bähr started yelling towards the guards on the guard and in the towers. "Hunne laten! Een is' geflogen! _(Let the dogs out! Someone has escaped!)_" Bähr turned towards the rushing guards in front of him, all lining up for orders.

From the window Kommandant Bähr heard the noise from his bed, and had made his way over. He stood frowning at his son for letting a prisoner escape. _This will not end well for him, with General Burkhalter here._ He sighed deeply ashamed.

From the VIP Quarters, Burkhalter was still sound asleep, dreaming of Austria and of yodelling in the Alps.

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Kinch rolled over on the blanket on top of the pile of hay on which he had been sleeping. To his right, one of the British prisoners murmured softly.

"I think I 'ear the alarm. I suppose they found us missin'."

"Eh, it's too early still." Kinch yawned. "Give them around 20 minutes. Then the real fireworks will begin."

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The same morning light made its way towards Dortmund as Hogan lied awake starring at the ceiling. Not feeling sleepy, he walked over and glanced out the window to the street below. Continuing to stare out the window, he heard movement from the room next door, and a door being shut tightly. Hogan leaned on the wall, hoping to make out anything going on, but heard only silence. Making his way back towards the window he looked out. A few minutes later, the figure of Wilhelm Klink made his way to a motorcar waiting for him outside the building. Klink climbed in, and the vehicle drove off. Leaving Hogan to start his day in a fowl mood.

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"Scheiße. _(Damn)_" Burkhalter shook his head looking at the hole in the fence. "Wie viele löcher? _(How many holes?)_"

"Föftig, Herr General. _(Fifty)_" Bähr's voice shook slightly.

"Fünfzig. Un' alle die Männer sind weg. Wie ist das möglich, Oberfeldwebel Bähr? _(Fifty. And alle the men are gone. How is that possible, Flight Sergeant Bähr?)) _" Burkhalter turned to him, staring through the man. Bähr felt that he would get hypothermia from the coldness of Burkhalter's look.

"Ähm…tja…..ik….ik….ik... _(Um... well... I... I... I...)_" Bähr stammered, as his father Kommandant Bähr broke the tension.

"Keen Problem, Herr General. Wi' finnen d'e Männer. Mien Söhn he hett een witte West. He war nich' op Wache. D'e Scheull lieg' mit Een anners. _(No Problem, General. We will find the men. My son is not giulty. He was not on duty. The guilt lies with someone else.)_"

"Das Stimmt, _Kommandant_ Bähr. _(That's correct.)_" Burkhalter turned towards the man. "Sie liegt mit _Ihnen_. _(It lies with _you_.)_" Burkhalter practically grinned at he expression of the man's face in front of him.

"Aaaaaaaver, aver Herr General- _(Buuuuut, but General-)_"

"Ihr Lager. Ihre Männer. Ihre Gefangene. Oder stimmt das _nich' (Your Camp. __Your Men. Your Prisoners. Or ist hat not true?)_?"

„Nnnnein, nein, Herr General. Das stimmt. _(Nooooo, no, General. That's right.)_"

"Gut. Dann finden Sie die Männer! Sorfort Bähr! _(Good. Than find the men! Immediately Bähr!)_" Burkhalter watched as the two men scurried off in opposite directions. Pulling a cigar out of his great coat, he lit it. It was going to be a long day.

The drive back to Hammelburg was not nearly as long as it took to get to Dortmund, in Hogan's mind. While Gefreiter Mann did stop every 45 minutes like clockwork, the drive seemed incredibly shorter, and quieter. Hogan stared out the window, watching the scenery roll by, as the flatter terrain turned more hilly the further south they went. His mind slowly turned to childhood memories of running along forest edges playing with wooden swords and attacking the neighbour's tree-houses, while they in turn attacked his. As Hogan relived the memories of playing knight, Mann slowly drove up to the gate, easily passing the guard at the front.

Hogan was brought out of his memory by the visual of the gate opening, as he went over what his was going to tell his men about the incident with Carter. However, before he even had thought up an ending, Hogan realized something was wrong. The normally busy compound was completely empty, of guards, of dogs, and of _prisoners! Where is everyone? What's going on here?_ Hogan panicked. The motorcar pulled up, and two guards opened the door, yanking Hogan out.

"Where are my men? What have you done with my men?" Hogan yelled, fighting the guards. Burkhalter approached from his standpoint in front of Klink's office.

"Ah, Hogan, so glad you can join us."

"Ah, General Burkhalter. If you're here, does that mean you're finally surrendering to us? I mean you let all the prisoners go, so naturally I assume-"

"Hogan, if I were you, I would tred carefully," Burkhalter looked at the man in front of him, as there were two guards on one each side holding his arms back, "as you are now the only prisoner here. And our best link to your men."

"What do you mean, 'best link'? What have you done with them?" Hogan struggled against his captors. Burkhalter motioned for the two guards to bring him into the Kommandant's office. Upon entering, Hogan got his first glimpse of the new Kommandant.

"This is your new Kommandant, Oberstleutnant Rudolf Bähr, Bähr, hier ist der Colonel Robert Hogan, ranghöchster Offizier der Gefangene. _(Lieutenant Colonel Rudolf Bähr, Bähr, this is Colonel Robert Hogan, Senior POW Officer.)_" Burkhalter sat down in the corner and watched the two men stare at each other.

"Hogan. Where are your men?"

"Look Kommandant. What is going on here? Where are my men? Will someone please explain what happened?"

"Hogan, it seems your men all escaped last night." Burkhalter started on another cigar. "And that," he puffed out a breath of some, "makes us look bad. So tell me. Where did they go?"

"They….WHAT?" Hogan was stunned. "Wait. How many?"

"All." Burkhalter puffed away carefree.

"They…! All….! Every….! Gone….? What…?"

"Yes, Hogan. That would be one way to put it." Burkhalter was amused at Hogan's inability to put a complete sentence thought together. Hogan slumped down into a chair, the two guards who had been holding him let him go.

"When?"

"Last night, or early this morning."

"How?"

"Through fifty holes in the fence." Hogan cursed softly. Now that those holes have been discovered, it will be near impossible to use them again.

"Tell me Colonel Hogan. Where go they?" Kommandant Bähr sat down and looked at Hogan nervously.

"I'm sorry, Kommandant, but I have no idea. No one informed me there was going to be a mass escape. Believe had I known, do you really think I would have gone willingly with Klink in the, quite possibly, longest car ride of my life?"

"No, of course not." Burkhalter shook his head. "Alright then, where do you think they might go?"

"Really, I have no idea. Klink and Schultz always seemed to know where we were going before we even got there. Spooky really." Hogan laughed. "Boy am I glad they're gone. Now that they are, maybe I can escape too!" Hogan looked at the Kommandant in front of him. "Sorry. I'll do it while you're sleeping naturally."

"Arrestzelle! _(Cooler!)_" Kommandant Bähr yelled. The two guards who dragged Hogan in, suddenly grabbed him and started pulling him out towards the door.

"Wait! Rudi! I'm sure we can work something out! A time-share in England maybe?"

As Hogan was dragged out, Burkhalter sighed deeply, and fiddling with his cigar.

"Der Hogan hat recht. Als Klink hier war, gab's niemals 'ne Massenflucht... _(Hogan is right. When Klink was here, there was never a mass escape…)_"

„Beed. Bitte, Herr General... _(Please. __Please General)_"

„Vierundzwanzig Stunde, Bähr. Sie habm vierundzwanzig Stunde, bis alle die Gefangene zu finden, danach rufe ich leider...- _(Twenty-four hours, Bähr. You have twenty—four hours in which to find all the prisoners, or afterwards I will unfortunately have to call...-)_"

„Leider...wen, Herr General? _(Unfortunately call whom, General?)_"

„Klink." Burkhalter's mouth tasted awful as he said the words. Bähr's eyes went wide. He had never been so disgraced by another man before. He would find those prisoners if it was the last thing he would do. And the first stop would be to call an old friend, who knew more about finding people and getting others to talk. Major Wolfgang Hochstetter.

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(1) This is a bad translation. Sorry. "Dienst" literally translates to "Service", but it was the job people had that served Germany. So for example, Anne's Dienst would be a nurse. Klink's is Kommandant of Stalag Luft 13. Hope that makes sense.

(2 ) This is a WWII nickname for Americans. It literally translates to Gum chewer (and chewer as how animal chews), since all Americans chew gum. (Well, I'm assuming that is a stereotype at least lol. But in the minds of Heer during the war, all Americans chewed gum.)


	15. Chapter 15

Wolfgang Hochstetter slammed his fist down on his desk wish such force it caused the papers sitting there to go flying.

"WO IST ER? _/WHERE IS HE?)_" Hochstetter screamed at his assistant. His assistant however remained silent, terrified of the man in front of him. "WARUM HAST DU IHN NICHT GEFUNDEN? _/WHY HAVE YOU NOT FOUND HIM?)_"

„Iiiiich, iiiiich- _(IIIII, IIIII-)"_

„HALT DIE KLAPPE! Trozdem, finden wir ihn...:_(SHUT-UP! __We'll find him yet…)_" Hochstetter picked up a paperweight and through it acrossed the room, where it put a small hole in the wall.

"Heeerr Mmmmajor…."

"WAS? _(WHAT?)_"

"Herr Major, vielleicht ist er mit dem Untergrund? _(Maybe he is with the Underground?)_" The assistant timidly suggested.

„Vielleicht, Leutnant. Aber WIE IST ER GEFLOGEN? _(Perhaps, Lieutenant. However. HOW DID HE ESCAPE?)_" Hochstetter slammed his fist down again, this time causing the man across from him to wince at the sound. "AAH!" Hochstetter bellowed, shoving the rest of the papers onto the ground. The assistant sighed, shifting the weight on his feet, as he had been standing their listening to his CO complain and rant for the last two hours. "Koch-" Hochstetter started by was interrupted by the ringing of his telephone. Koch started to reach for it but was slapped by Hochstetter's hand before he himself picked up the phone.

"Hochstetter." He answered.

"Major Hochstetter? Hier is' Rudolf Bähr. _(This is Rudolf Bähr.)_"

„Ach, Bähr. Es freut misch, disch zuhören. "

„Wolfi, ähm, darf ik dir wat beden? _(Wolfi, um, do you mind if I ask you a favour?)_"

„Vielleicht. Was ist? _(Depends. What is it?)_"

"Beed. Ik witt ‚nau w'e beschäftigt du bist, aver, ik bruke diene Hülp. All' miene Gefangene sind Gistern geflogen- _(Please. I know how busy you are, but, I need your help. Alle of my the prisoners escaped yesterday-)_„

„WAS? _(WHAT?)_"

„Stimmt. Un'...ik dakte...Villicht weil du so plietsch un'- _(Correct. And...i thought...maybe because you are so clever and-)_„

„Gefangene? Wo bist du genau? _(Prisoners? Where exactly are you?)_"

"Ik bün Kommandant vun Stalag Luft 13- _(I am he Kommandant of Stalag Luft 13-)_"

"Dreizehn? (Thirteen?)"

"Dat stimmt… _(Correct...)_"

"Isch komme….es gibt da ne Untergrundgruppe...und isch selbst hab nen Gefangener verloren. _(I'm coming... there is an underground group there, and I myself have lost a prisoner.)_"

„Nee... _(No...)_"

„Doch. Isch glaub, dass vielleicht mein Gefangener da ist... isch bin Morgen da. Auf wiederhören! _(Yes. I believe, that perhaps my prisoner may be there, I'll be there tomorrow. Goodbye!)_"

„Danke. Auf Wiederhören. _(Thank you. Goodbye.)_"

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Hauptmann Hauptmann, as the escaping American was continuing to be called waited nervously by the fountain. He pretended to read his newspaper in front of him, but all the while was looking everywhere but. His heart was beating so fast that he swore it was going to jump right out of his body. Taking each hand in turn and wiping the sweat off and onto his trousers, he looked around again.

The street was busy being early to mid morning on a weekday. There were shoppers out, and business workers tending to their stores. The Hauptmann looked around hoping to spot his next contact. Glancing down at his watch, he still had five minutes before they were to contact him.

Turning back to his newspaper, he began to read. However nothing inside held his interest as much as the outside world. Hauptmann looked around again, trying to calm his breathing and the look of fright on his face. It would do no good if he looked like a deserter. To his right, he saw a man approaching; the man was dressed in a black suit and hat, and approached the fountain next to where Hauptmann was standing. The man stopped about 3 metres from him and lit a cigarette. He then turned to Hauptmann.

"Entschuldigung, aber wenn Sie fertig mit der Zeitung sind, darf ich sie bitte lesen? _(Excuse me, but when you are finished with the newspaper, may I please read it?)_"

„Gerne. _(Of course.)_" Hauptmann replied, taking a few steps to hand the paper over. He looked at his watch, his contact should be here anytime.

"Ach." The man started. "Schade, keine Weltmeisterschaft dieses Jahr (1). Wie scheißig. _(A pity, no World Cup this year. How __terrible__.)_" He shook his head. „Spielen Sie gerne Füßball? _(Do you like to play football?)_" The man asked Hauptmann.

"Hm? Oh. Ja, manchmals. _(Yeah, sometimes.)_" Hauptmann shrugged. The man rolled his eyes.

"Wer spielt besser, Manchester United, oder Bayern? _(Who plays better, Manchester United or __Bayern__?)_" Hauptman glanced back at the man as his eyes widened, _that was the code!_

"Manchester United, auf jeden Fall. _(Manchester United, of course.)_" Hauptmann quickly replied.

„Hm. England ist schön, oder? _(England is nice, isn't it?)_"

"Ja, aber nicht so schön wie die USA. _(Yes, but not as nice as the United States.)_" The man nodded slightly at Hauptmann and then folded up the paper. Tilting his head slightly, he indicated that he should follow him. He started walking back the way he came, and Hauptmann counted to 30, as he was instructed and then started following him, as best he could, without any noticing.

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Newkirk watched amused from his hiding place in the barn near the camp as the guards searched the woods. Waving the rest of the men who were hiding with him, the group watched as the guards tromped and walked directly by the farm. Newkirk silently laughed.

"I thought 'at we'd be the first ones found. Then I remembered 'o we are dealing with."

"Well, we still might be, they haven't started searching here yet." One of the three men answered.

"Come-on mate. They're walkin' right passed us. I don't think they're even gonna investigate."

"Maybe. But we should still get under the hay just to be sure."

"Oh alright. In a minute though." Newkirk turned to the two others hiding up there with us. "Any takers?"

"I think you're nuts, Newkirk. I'm not gonna waste my money on a bet like that." One of the other men answered.

"Come-on make. I'm givin' 2:1 odds 'ere!"

"Alright, Newkirk." The man behind Newkirk crawled forward. "I'll take it. Five Allied Currency Notes (2) that we're found by tomorrow. Schultz or no Schultz."

"Deal." Newkirk wrote it down on his pad.

"Well, if Mathew's is in….I make the same bet, with French Invasion Currency of course, but say they will find us today." A second man joined in.

"Thank you, Thompson. You, Captain America (3)?" Newkirk turned to the last man.

"No thanks, Newkirk. I don't like betting on my life."

"I can respect that. Maybe not understand, but respect it." Newkirk glanced again outside their little hideaway in the barn. "It's your money. I still say 'ey won't find us 'fore the guv wants 'em too. So three days."

"Why three, Newkirk?" Mathew's asked.

"Today is one. The Colonel should be back sometime today. Tomorrow, when we aren't yet found, the guv'ner will talk 'em into bringin' Schultz back to find us, and day three, Schultz will be 'ere, the Colonel will 'elp 'im out, and poof, we're back in business."

"Let's hope your right. I would be willing to lose five bucks over that…." Mathew sighed.

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Colonel Hogan sat in the cooler, trying to sort out why his men would suddenly escape all at once, with no previous notice. _There is probably a note in the tunnel._ He sighed. _I wonder if I can get out and get it though? _Hogan played with the stones along the wall, to no avail. If his men had finished the tunnel to the cooler, it may not be that particular cell. Hogan huffed in aggravation. Suddenly there was a slight knock coming from somewhere. Standing up, Hogan crossed over, searching for the sound. _There it is again, where is that coming from? _Hogan tapped the wall with his knuckles. _And again, the same signal came, the rhythm matches the code to come up from the tunnels._ Hogan was curious. The knock came again. This time Hogan answered with the tunnel code. A second later scrapping was heard, and a block from the side moved.

"Colonel? Colonel Hogan?" A voice whispered. Hogan walked around and saw a head sticking out of the wall.

"Doe! What are you doing here, I thought all the men had escaped." Hogan whispered and bend down so that he was closing to be level with the head in the wall.

"We have Sir. A few of us volunteered to stay behind in the tunnels to monitor things. Once the others start being found, we will go out and be recaptured. Till then, a handful of us are living in the tunnel, Sir." Doe explained. Hogan nodded.

"Good thinking."

"Sir, I will come back later tonight to fill you in on everything. I don't want to risk it during the day, Sir. But…" Doe disappeared and returned with a sandwich. "Something to tide you over, Colonel."

"Thank you, Doe. I will see you after roll call….assuming that they even bother to count me." Hogan laughed. Doe smiled as he disappeared back into the tunnel, sealing the all behind him. Hogan crawled a step forward examining the wall, smiling. There were absolutely no traces of a hidden panel there at all. _My men do good work_.

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Hauptmann nonchalantly followed the man 10 metres in front of him. They twisted and turned through the city till he suddenly stopped in front of a building containing several flats. Glancing over his shoulder the man nodded for Hauptmann to enter the building. The two quickly and quietly ascended the stairs in front of them, stopping two floors above. The man quickly ushered Hauptmann in.

"Dan-"

"Shh!" The man hushed. And waved Hauptmann to follow him through the hallway to the back room. Inside was dark, and the contact quickly handed clothes over for Hauptmann to change. Understanding, Hauptmann started taking off the uniform and putting on the civilian clothes. The contact then handed him several pieces of paper, looking at them he saw that they were identity papers, however where the photo should be, there was nothing.

"Mein Foto… _(My photo…)_" Hauptmann whispered. The contact nodded, and pulled out a camera. Hauptmann quickly positioned himself as the contact pulled out a white sheet. Snapping the photo, he disappeared with the camera, living Hauptmann alone in the room. Too nervous to do anything, he sat there still for 10 minutes, until the contact returned.

The contact entered the room again, and pulled the curtains open enough to see, and glanced out on the street.

"Sie sprechen Deutsch? _(You speak German?)_" He asked.

"Ja…ein bisschen. _(Yes... a little.)_" Hauptmann answered.

"Gut. Dann reden wir auf Deutsch. Zu gefährlich auf Englisch. _(Good. __Then we'll speak in German. Too dangerous in English.)_" The contact let the corner of the drape drop back down as he turned. "Sie heißen niemals Hauptmann. Sondern sind Sie Hans Wagner. (You will no longer be called Hauptmann. But rather, you are Hans Wagner.)"

"Hans Wagner?"

"Stimmt. Sie waren verletzt in Frankreich, und damit können Sie nicht mehr kämpfen. (Correct. YOu were injured in France, and now can no longer fight.)"

„Verstehe ich. (I understand.)" Wagner answered.

"Gut. _(Good.)_" The contact looked around. „In eine Stunde soll das Foto gut sein, und dann fahren wir ab. Aber bis dann, essen wir. _(In an hour, the photo should be done, and then we can leave. However, until then, we'll eat.)_" He lead Wagner out and turned right into the kitchen.

"Darf ich fragen, wohin wir fahren? _(May I ask, where we are going?)_" Wagner asked as the contacted handed him some cheese.

"Nein. Zu gefährlich. Aber wir fahren nach Süden. Da treffen Sie jemand, der Sie zu dem nächsten Kontakt bringen wird. _(No. Too dangerous. However we are going south. There you will meet someone who will take you to your next contact.)_"

„Danke." Wagner set the cheese on the small table, the contact handed him some bread.

"Darf ich Ihnen fragen, wieso Sie nach England fahren wollen? Von hier macht's keinen Sinn... ist's leichter nach der Schweiz zufahren, weil wir schon nach Süden fahren. _(May I ask, why is it that you want to go to England? From here it makes no sense… it's easier to go to Switzerland, because we are already travelling south.)_" The contacted asked as he grabbed some meat. Wagner nodded.

„Warum müssen wir nach Süden? Sie haben Recht... das macht keinen Sinn. _(Why do we need to go South? You're right… that doesn't make any sense.)_" Hauptmann asked confused. The contact hesitated before answering.

"Weil ich keine kenne, die….die Sie nach _England_ schicken kann. Ich hab' von nur einen gehört, der vielleicht könnte... und er ist im Süden. _(Because I don't know anyone, who... who can send you to _England_. I've heard of one person who might be able to… and he is in the South.)_"

"Bitte…ich muss nach England. _(Please... I need to get to England.)_"

"Tja…okay. Wir fahren in einer Stunde ab. _(Alright... We'll leave in an hour.)_"

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Wagner looked at his finished identity papers, as both him and his contacted waited for the train. The looked completely authentic. Glancing at this ticket, he saw that they were taking the train to Frankfurt am Main. Wagner tried to think back to his German geography that he had taken during his brief time at Command School (4). He shrugged. He remembered his contact said that they were travelling south, which was the opposite direction he wanted to go, but left it, hoping his contact knew what he was doing. _I just wish I remembered where Frankfurt was. I guess it's a good thing they didn't go ahead and make me an officer. I probably would forget other important things too. They're right about me not being officer material. _Wagner shook his head sadly.

Wagner's contacted tugged slightly on his sleeve as the train approached. The two men climbed silently on with the other passengers, and looked for a place to sit. Finding one, the two men did their best to blend into the crowd. Wagner looked at his ticket again. It would be some hours before the train stopped in Frankfurt, and he would be safe in a crowd again.

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Bähr was displeased as the guards come back into the compound empty handed. Burkhalter was amazed that they were unable to find a single man. As the two men talked with the guards in charged, including Bähr's own son, Kommandant Bähr became more nervous, and Burkhalter more frustrated.

"_Niemand_! Sie haben _niemand_ gefunden! Wie ist das möglich? _(_No-one_! You found _no-one_! How is that possible!)_"

„Es tut mir Leid, Herr General,- _(I'm sorry, General-)"_

„Stimmt, dass es Ihnen Leid tut! Sie finden die Männer, oder tut Stalingrad Ihnen Leid! (5) _(Correct that you are sorry! You will find the men, or __Stalingrad__ will make you sorry!)_" The guards quickly apologized again, and ran back out into the woods. Burkhalter broke a cigar in half in his hands.

"Bähr. Finden Sie die Männer. Oder ich rufe Klink an...heute. Und ich will das NICHT machen. Verstehen Sie? Finden Sie die Männer…und _vielleicht_ werde ich Sie nicht schießen…. _(Bähr. Find the men. Or I will ring Klink…today. Und I do NOT want to do that. Understand? Find the men…and _maybe_ I will not shoot you…)_"

„Danke Herr General. Sofort Herr General. _(Thank you General! Right away, General!)_" Bähr saluted the general and ran off. If there was one thing the made did not like, that was having someone order him around like a Gefreiter. He should be a General, and giving orders to others. And if it was the last thing he did, he would make sure everyman in that camp paid for the humiliation they were causing him.

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(1) The Football World Cup was cancelled in 1942 because of the war, and again in 1946 because of the destruction of WWII.

(2) The Allied Governments had Military Issued Currency during WWII. They had as well Invasion Currency that was sent with the men as they went overseas, such as French, Germany, and Italian Currencies, in the hope that they would soon take over the main Currency. (For example, men who jumped into France, had the French currency) This is what later happened. (Special thanks to Jinzle who helped me with this information.)

(3) I don't own the name "Captain America", I am simply borrowing it for the joke. (since as it turns out this is the name of a comic strip in the US….who knew?)

(4 ) This will be explained later.

(5) I want to explain this a little bit better, since my translation probably doesn't make any sense. In German word "tun" or in this case "tut" means "do" or "does", and "Leid" is "pain". So to say you're sorry, you say, "Es tut mir leid." (It does me pain). So the literal translation of the conversation is: „Es tut mir Leid, Herr General,-„ (It does me pain, General). With Burkhalter's reply of: „Stimmt, dass es Ihnen Leid tut! Sie finden die Männer, oder tut Stalingrad Ihnen Leid! (Correct, that it _[does]_ you pain (does)! You _[will]_ find the men, or _[will]_ (do) Stalingrad _[do]_ you pain!)


	16. Chapter 16

_To answer a few questions I've been getting. One: No, I did NOT invent Heinrich. He is mentioned in Season 6. (Sorry, I haven't got around yet to figuring out what episode), and two. Yes. As it turns out, Hans Wagner was indeed an alias in the show. That was COMPLETELY unintentional. But it works! :D )_

_Also IMPORTANT! For the Papa Awards, every author needs to select 1-2 catagories for their work. I am open to suggestions from you guys as to what catagories fits it best. Drama, Comedy, Unique, and/or General. THANKS! :D_

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Hogan was laying on the hard bunk in the cooler when the lights were turned out, signally the end of another day. Sitting up, Hogan patiently waited for the stone to be moved. He didn't wait more than 30 seconds.

"Colonel?" Doe's voice was heard again. Hogan walked over.

"Yes, Doe. I'm here."

"Good sir, if you will climb through here, yes that's right. There is a step, yes Sir, just like that." Doe stood back, letting his CO through, handing him the lantern once he was down. Hogan marvelled at the work on the tunnel extension.

"You boys have been doing a lot of work while I was gone." Hogan was amazed at the work.

"Yes Sir. We're working on stability at this end right now, but I can fill you more in later." Doe led the way to a small sitting area near the cooler entrance.

"What's this?" Hogan, took the lantern from Doe's hand and looked at the chairs. "This is a parlour of sorts, Sir. So that way we can chat with those in the cooler, but still be nearby in case they need to go back up. I know you didn't order it, Colonel, but-"

"No, it's a fine idea." Hogan was impressed. He sat down in the chair. "Now can you please explain to me what is going on?" Hogan leaned back, listening to the man in front of him explain everything. Nodding as the story went along.

"I hope you aren't angry, Colonel. Kinch did because it was the only way we could think of to get both Klink and Schultz back." Doe didn't meet the eyes of his Colonel. Hogan sighed before answering.

"No, Doe. I'm not mad. I'm actually….impressed. You guys have done a great job with it. I'm proud."

"You…you are, Sir?" Doe looked up at his CO.

"Yes. Although I cannot say I am pleased with the holes in the fence. But I understand now why you did it."

"Yes Sir, we didn't want them digging and finding our tunnels."

"Understandable. Sacrifices had to be made, and everyone made the right choice. So I will talk to Burkhalter tomorrow about possibly getting at least Schultz back. And hopefully we will be back in business by the end of the week."

"Sir, what about the pair of Bährs?"

"I'll deal with them. Just keep an eye on things down here. I don't suppose LeBeau is down here is he?"

"No, Sir. He's in the cave towards the south. What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing. I was just hungry." Hogan turned and walked back towards the ladder leading up to the cooler. "Guess I should get back in before they miss me." He climbed up, handing Doe back the lantern as he did.

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The train finally pulled into Frankfurt am Main, as the sky darkened. Most of the passengers were panicked and rushed off the train before being stranded outside after curfew. Wagner's contact shoved him through the crowds towards a man standing next to two bicycles. The two men nodded at each other before, Wagner's contact turned back towards the train. Wager was left looking at the man in his late twenties with the bicycles.

"Ach Hansi!" The man grabbed Wagner by the shoulders and hugged him, he reciprocated.

"Um, Brüder! Hallo. Hast du Papa gesehen? _(Brother! Hi. Have you seen Papa?)_"

„Leider nicht, aber er spricht bald mit Mama. Ach, siehst du! Du bist noch ein Baby. _(Sadly no, but he will speak shortly with Mama. Oh look at you! You are sill just a Baby.)_"

„Bitte, ich will mit Papa reden. _(Please, I want to speak with Papa.)_"

„Du bist wie ein Bär, _'ich will, ich will, ich will_.' _(You're like a Bear. '_I want, I want, I want_')_" The contact smiled. „Komm. _(Come.)_" He handed Wagner a bicycle, as he got on his own. Wagner looked nervous at the bicycle, as his leg was still badly injured, but figuring it was cycling or death, he got on. The two peddled in silence to a house outside of town. In the darkened streets it was difficult to see and avoid patrols. Yet, the contact seemed to know every street, and the route of every patrol, as they zoomed out towards the country. Wagner held his breath as the saw the beauty of the landscape, with a slight moon casting its rays down, illuminating the road before them. The beauty momentarily took Wagner's mind away from the constant pain in his leg. After a hard 30 minute silent ride, the two men pulled up in front of a small house. The contact took the bicycles and lead a limping Wagner into the cellar.

The cellar was dark and damp, even after the contact struck a match and lit a small hand-lamp.

"There." He replied in British English pointing to a darkened corner. "There is a small bed of blankets for you."

"You speak English?"

"Yes. My wife and I both study, the language. My father was a business man with many English customers. Sadly those days are gone." He sighed deeply, missing the days when things were better before the first war. "You will stay here tonight. And be absolutely silent. I will not have my wife and children knowing you are in here. If they find out, I _will_ turn you over to save them. Is that understood?"

"Completely." Wagner was nervous. The contact looked around the small cellar.

"Stay in that corner. There is some food and water there, and a chamber pot. I will come for you tomorrow, and we will be on our way again. You will meet up with your next contact. He will take you then."

"How will I know him?"

"He will be carrying a children's book. He will find you. He will ask, 'Hast du die Geschichte der drei Bären gelesen?' _(Have you read the story of the Three Bears?) _You will reply, ‚Leider nicht, aber ich will sie hören.' _(Unfortunately no, but I want to hear them) _To which he will then reply, ‚Ich kann dir die Geschichte nich selbst lesen, aber ich weiß jemand, der kann.' _(I can't read the Stories to you myself, but I know someone who can) _You will then reply, ‚ist er so groß wie ein Papa Bär? _(is he as big as a Papa Bear?)_" His answer will be ‚'ja, ein größer mann gibt es nicht.' _(yes, a bigger/greater mann there isn't)_" The contact had Wagner repeat it, and then turned to go back outside, locking the cellar behind him. Wagner layed down, memorizing the code, and starring at the spiders above him. It was a long day, and tomorrow sounded like another one. Eating a Brötchen with cheese, Wagner decided to get some rest.

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Hogan was let out of the cooler the next morning just in time to see Major Hochstetter drive franticly up to the gate. Tilting his head, he tried to figure out why the crazed man would have been called. _Surely there is no reason for him to be here. Not unless the underground is setting off more Döner meat factories._ Hogan walked over to his barracks. As he did so, he noticed that the guards, who weren't out looking for the men, were fixing the holes in the wire. _Guess that's why they let me out_, Hogan laughed aloud.

Entering the barrack, he crossed over to his office. However the coffee machine was not were it was suppose to be. _Of course, Kinch probably moved it._ Hogan crossed his arms trying to figure out what to do. Shrugging he crossed the compound again, this time towards Kommandant Klink's former office. The closer he got the louder and clearing Hochstetter's ranting became. Nodding to Helga, he pushed open the door.

"-damit muss er hier sein! _(-so he must be here!)_" Hochstetter finished screaming. Turning around at the sound of the door opening. "'Wer ist dieser Mann' (1)? _(Who ist his man!)_"

"Er? Colonel Robert Hogan, ranghöchster Offizier de' Gefangene…. Wenn's Gefangene hier gifft. _(He? Colonel Robert Hogan, Senior POW Officer of the prisoners… that is, when there are prisoners.)_" Bähr crossed his arms. „Hogan fat are you doing hair. You must alone in your cabin." Bähr starred at Hogan. Hogan laughed the man's English.

"Trust me. There is no better place I would like to be than in my, 'cabin' you say? But I saw a car drive up, and I thought there might be information about my men, so I came to find out.

"Hogan sere ist no information. Go afay." Bähr turned towards Hochstetter, who was eying Hogan.

"Colonel Hogan? What do you know about a Sergeant Andrew Jonathan Carter?" Hochstetter's eyes barrowed through Hogan's soul.

"Sergeant Carter? Nothing except that he escaped your clutches." Hogan smiled.

"I would not smile if I were you, Hogan…."

"Oh? And why not may I ask?"

"Because you had something to do with it. And with the disappearance of the other men as well."

"Sorry, but you really should stop listening to those voices in your head. Because I can honoustly tell you, I didn't have a thing to do with either of them." _For once_, Hogan chuckled to himself.

"I'm watching you, Colonel Hogan…"

"Well if you really don't have anything better to do, go ahead. But I get a little nervous if people are watching me while I sleep. So keep that in mind if I start throwing things at you."

"Colonel Hogan, you are gone!" Bähr stood up and pointed at the door.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your Mein Kampf in a bunch." Hogan turned and closed the door behind him, trying to listen in. However, Oberfeldwebel Bähr, whom Hogan had walked directly passed in his rush to hear what was going on, clasped him on the shoulder, and lead him outside. Hogan would have to find that coffee pot and fast if he wanted to hear what was being said. He ran back over to his barrack and climbed down into the tunnel.

"Doe? Who all is down here?" Hogan yelled striking a match to like a candle.

"I'm here, Sir. What's wrong?" Sparky appeared out of nowhere.

"Do you know what happened to the coffee pot from my quarters?" Hogan asked flustered.

"Yes, Sir. It's down in the radio room." Sparky didn't meet his Colonel's face. He still felt incredibly guilty about causing the whole mess.

"Good." Hogan walked towards the radio room at full speed, and once in turned on the tunnel internal radio to hear what was going up directly above them.

_"Also kommt's zum Austrag. __**(So it's settled then)**__"_

_**"**__Aufgemacht. __**(Agreed.)**__"_

_"Heil den Bart! __**(Heil the mustache!)**__"_

_"Heil."_ Hogan heard the sound of the door to the office being opened and shut again.

"Damn! I missed it." Hogan clenched his fists.

"Sir. Um, may I help? Please I want to redeem myself to you. I know this is all my fault. Please Sir! Please lemme help to make it right." Sparky still didn't look at Hogan. Hogan turned, startled by the man's plea.

"Alright. You can start by getting that coffeepot up and back in working order in my quarters pronto." Hogan saw the man's face show relief.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Sparky. I still haven't made up my mind on which punishment best fits your crime. However, if you can help me straighten out this situation, I just _miiight_ forget about it." Hogan saw the relief on Sparky's face turned back to nervousness.

"Thank you, Sir. You wouldn't be disappointed."

"I better not be." Sparky nodded nervously at Hogan and took the coffeepot and started cautiously towards the exit, praying no guard would find him. Hogan watched as the man disappeared from sight, and sat down briefly. He had no idea what to do if this didn't work. Getting Klink and Schultz back would be easy. But with Carter still officially missing on the records, he may not be able to save their necks the next time something comes their way. Hogan buried his head in hands, pretending that nothing around him existed. The war. Their travel agency, London's orders, and pretending to be a sabotage group. All Hogan wanted was to be 10 again, and defending his tree fort from the other neighbour kids, and pretending to be a knight.

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Hans Wagner felt as if the whole world knew that he was an escaped Prisoner as he sat on the small regional train making the last part of his journey towards his destination. Unlike before, his contacted didn't go with him, living Wagner feeling extremely vulnerable. Whipping his sweaty palms on the sides of his trousers, he absent mindedly rubbed this cut on his leg, and thought about what he would do at first chance when he was back in England. _Write Mary Jane._ He smiled. _And then take a bath. After that maybe-_Wagner heard a sound behind him. There was an identity check going on. Swallowing nervously, Wagner pulled out both his Identity Card and Ticket.

"Ausweis und Karte bitte. _(ID and Ticket please)_" The man asked, whom to Wagner looked like he had been a body builder before the war. Wagner nodded and handed both Papers over.

"Wagner, Hans. Sie fahren nach Hammelburg. _(You are travelling to Hammelburg.)_" Wagner remained silent and nodded. "Was ist denn los? Könnten Sie nicht sprechen? _(What's wrong? Can't you talk?)_" The man laughed, Wagner felt faint.

"Er…erkal…erkaltet… _I'm s…si…sick.)_" Wagner pretended to be horse. The man nodded, understanding.

"Ach, wie schade. Danke Herr Wagner. _(Oh how terrible. Thank you Mr. Wagner)_" Wagner nodded as the man turned to the next person on the train, before turning his head back out the window. However out of the corner of his eye he saw a man get up and leave before security was able to question him. Noticing the man as well, the security began to chase after him, driving him into the next car. Wagner looked down the isle with the rest of the passengers, just in time to see the man arrested.

"Nein! Nein!" The poor man yelled. Wagner continued to look on in morbid fascination.

"Sagen Sie mir, wer Sie sind! _(Tell me who you are!)_" The man who had checked Wagner's ticket yelled, twisting the other man's arm behind his back. However the man merely yelped in pain. "Sagen Sie mir! _(Tell me!)_"

"Alright! Alright! I'm not a spy, I'm an escaped Prisoner! Honoustly!"

"Wer sind Sie? Warum tragen Sie diese Kleidungen? Sind Sie Spion? _(Who are you! Why are you wearing those clothes? Are you a spy?)_"

„What? I'm sorry I only speak English and French!" The security man looked confused, and starred at the other passengers. All whom looked away. _There must be someone here who speaks English or French. _Wagner thought to himself. However no one spoke up and the large man shook the smaller again.

"Sind Sie Spion? _(Are you a spy?)_"

"Look I'm sorry, I can't understand what you are saying! Please don't shoot me! Please! Um! Um! Nicht scheißen! Nicht schießen! _(Don't shoot! Don't shoot!)_" The man smaller man pleaded. Wagner had a decision to make should he sit idlely by, or step in. But if he stepped in, they may think he is a spy…._what should I do?_ Wagner's heart pounded.

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At that same moment, Major Wolfgang Hochsetter was investigating the woods around the Stalag Luft 13, with the dogs from the camp. Noticing a cave up ahead he headed towards it. Letting the dogs in first, Hochstetter yanked a hand lamp from one of his fellow men.

"Is there someone in here?" He sneered, looking around for the dogs which he had sent loose in. "Any prisoners?" However a moment later the three dogs which Hochstetter had let loose came tearing out of the cave, yelping. Hochstetter turned ignoring the dogs, and took a step in.

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(1) Not my line. A direct quote from the series.


	17. Chapter 17

_One again, IMPORTANT! I am requesting suggestions (if I may) on what catagories I should put this story into for the Papa Bear Awards. Drama, Comedy, General, Unique. I need to choose two out of the four. Please help me with this process. Thank you! Danke! :D_

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Wagner continued to hear the escaped prisoner plead with the security staff. Feeling fet up, Wagner stood up and walked into the next car.

"Entschuldigung, aber ich spreche Englisch. _(Excuse me, but I speak English.)_" Wagner continued to make his voice sound horse. It would do no good if they arrested him as well on the count of being a spy.

"Bitte schön. _(Be my guest.)_" The security member shrugged.

"Are you a spy?" Wagner asked nervous. The man's head jerked up from its pervious position of hanging down. However two men continued to hold onto his arms.

"NO! No I'm not! I'm just an escaped Prisoner! Please tell that to these buffoons here!" The man pleaded before Wagner. Wagner turned nervously and translated the message, deciding to leave the "buffoon" portion out. The large man chuckled sarcastically.

"Aber, auf jeden Fall sind Sie, mein guter Mann! _(But of course you are, my good man!)_"

„Do you have anything to prove that you're a prisoner?" Wagner asked nervous.

"No. No I don't. But I'm not a spy! Really!" Wagner felt helpless. Everyone in the train starred at him, not understanding what was being said.

"Er ist kein Spion. Nur Gefangener. _(He isn't a spy. Just a prisoner.)_" Wagner shrugged. The men holding the prisoner seemed unconvinced. Whispering amongst themselves, Wagner heard the words, "Stalag Luft 13", and "verhören _(interrogate)_". He bit his lip, trying to think fast, if there was anyway he could help the man in front of him. However he couldn't think of anything.

"Los! _(Move!)_" Wagner turned as the two men who were holding the escaped prisoner pushed him forwards toward the front of the train. Feeling extremely guilty, Wagner moved back to his previous seat and sat down. He wished there was something he could do to help the poor man, who could have been himself… but there was nothing. _I need to get back to England so I can put an end to this war once and for all._ Wagner clenched his hands and jaw.

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Hochstetter stepped through the small opening into pure darkness. Using to lamp to help him look around, he saw absolutely nothing. It was a small opening, but no one was there, he couldn't even see what had spooked the dogs. Yelling in frustration, he left the cave and moved onto the next spot.

However as Hochstetter left there was a set of six eyes watching him from up above on an overhang. Each owner to a pair of eyes, silently snickering at the man below.

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Colonel Hogan sat at his desk. With no prisoners, and Burkhalter half convinced already that he was going to have to call Klink, there was nothing for him to do. Standing up, Hogan took a turn around his room, before sitting back down, this time on the lower bunk of his bed. Sitting a moment, he got back up. He felt completely restless. It was hard for him to disappear into the tunnels, without the possibility of one of the guards noticing. Sighing, as he was bored, Hogan grabbed a book of his small shelf. He normally didn't have time for reading, but as he lacked anything better to do, he opened the book. It was well worn, a favourite of Kinch's, Hogan recalled, and layed down on his bunk to start reading.

Hogan had barely finished page ten, when he heard a soft knock coming from below his floorboards. Knocking back, he received answer. Setting down the book, Hogan walked to the common room and opened the trap door to the tunnel, and climbed down, sealing the bunk behind him.

"You rang?" Hogan laughed, as a figured appeared before him.

"Um yes Sir. The underground has a package for us to pick up this evening." Sparky spoke, feeling nervous.

"A package? Alright. What kind of package."

"An escaped Prisoner, Sir. They have an agent meeting him at the train, but want us to pick him up tonight…with all the guards around and Hochstetter…." Sparky trailed off, trying to keep his speech still formal, as he couldn't relax around his CO anymore.

"Alright." Hogan sighed. "Tell them we will pick it up. Set the meeting for 23 hundred at the Stadtpark. Recognition code 4."

"Of course, Colonel…" Sparky nodded and saluted his Commanding Officer. Hogan shook his head as he saluted back. _I can't wait till things are back to normal around here. _

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Wagner was angry as he looked at the increasing darkness outside the train. He prayed that the train would arrive at Hammelburg soon. _Why does that name sound familiar? I feel like I should know it for some reason. _Shrugging, Wagner continued to look outside. As he did he saw a pair of lights approaching in the sky. Assuming they were German, he thought nothing of it. As the planes got closer, Wagner realized, _no they're not German…those are American! _He heart leaped with joy, but came crashing down. _They're going to bomb….they're going to bomb!_ He looked around franticly, as he would now be on the receiving end of an air-raid. The other passengers realized what was going and began to panic. Some were screaming.

The sound of the first bomb made Wagner nearly go deaf. Followed by a second, third, until he lost track. The train shuttered and shook with each increasing bomb. Wagner looked outside, the planes continued to fly onto the next city, raining condom and chocolate bombs (1) as he went. There were even leaflets raining down. The train halted unable to go any further as the track was now damaged. The commotion in the cabin Wager was in, as in no better shape. Women were screaming, and men were yelling. In the commotion, Wagner started heading towards the front of the train, looking for the escaped Prisoner. The train continued to shake as large pieces of chocolate continued to rain down and damage the sides. Wagner managed to make his way through the crowd and saw the prisoner sitting alone, as the security members now had their hands full dealing with the safety of everyone on board. Grabbing the man's hand Wager yanked him up and pulled him outside the car.

Both men jumped. Wagner slipped on a condom, and the other man help keep him steady.

"Come-on. We need to get into the woods and to safety before they drop anything else." Wagner had to shout over the commotion now raining at the city in front of him.

"Why are they bombing here?" The escaped prisoner asked as the two of them ran towards the trees. "I thought they were staying up north. Why this part of Germany?"

"I haven't a clue, I know there were some targets in the south, like Schweinfurt, but I'm not about to ask, I'm just glad for the distraction. But we need to get outta here. I don't feel like dying in a chocolate raid."

"Oh of course, that's near here I think…who are you anyways?" The man asked looking sceptical but thankful at Wagner.

"I dunno if I should tell you, in-case we get captured….-"

"Well alright that makes sense-"

"I'm Andrew Carter. A fellow escaping prisoner."

"I'm Jake." Jake laughed at the man next to him. "But you already know what I am. Where are you planning on going?" The two men ran into the trees, trying not to hurt themselves on the pieces of chocolate on the ground.

"I dunno. I'm suppose to meet someone in Hammelburg, at the station."

"I'm heading towards Hammelburg too. I'm meeting up with Papa Bear. You can come with me if you want."

"I dunno, Jake." Carter looked around the woods, trying to figure out where they were. "I'm suppose to meet someone named Tiger. That is all I know."

"Alright, fair enough. May I come with you? I won't survive on my own. I can't speak a word of German. French on the other hand-"

"Shh!" Carter crouched down, listening, his leg complaining as he neared the ground. He heard footsteps over the sounds of the bombing, and saw out of the corner of his eye a women walking alone, stumbling over the mess left from the raid. Carter looked at Jake and the two nodded, slowly following her.

The woman and the two men walked in silence over the damaged ground, listening as the raid turned into a dog fight, nearby. After several kilometres, Carter noticed a break in the trees and a town up ahead.

"That must be Hammelburg." Jake whispered. Carter nodded. The woman they were following looked around. The sky had darkened as the moon disappeared, and the women looked nervous. Glancing around the street, she headed towards the right. Carter and Jake debated following her.

"We can't just walk around a German town at night!" Jake quietly pointed out.

"What choice do we have? We need to meet up with that agent."

"No we don't. I'm sure we can find Papa Bear on our own." Jake stood firm.

"I don't think so. Who would we ask?"

"Look I dunno, Andrew. But if you wanna split up that's fine."

"Fine. And just where are you gonna go?" Carter looked at Jake as if he were nuts.

"All the prisoners where I was learned a song, and we would sing it."

"That's nice. What kind of song?" Carter smiled completely forgetting about the argument.

"Follow, follow the river south. Follow, Follow the river west. Follow, follow my dear boy follow, follow, follow the river. Follow, follow till mountains peak, follow, follow till birds sing sweet, follow, follow my dear boy follow, follow, follow the mountains. Mountains high you won't find here, mountains low, are in the clear, follow, follow my dear boy follow, follow, follow the foothills. Mountains will to the south may be, mountains north, and you won't find me, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow the fields. The stars shine bright, up above, follow them boy, like hand in glove, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow the south star. Beware my boy of those who trick, beware my boy, don't get in a fix, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow the middle. A loaf of ham, you'll find there, a ice berg, you shan't find here, follow, follow my hear boy follow, follow, follow the tree-line. A squirrel there will you never see, for he lives alone, in the trees you see, follow, follow my dear boy follow, follow, follow the tree stumps. A man you'll find, that may be, a bear you'll find, that you'll see, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow your papa. Don't you cry, my dear sonny, don't you weep, my dear sonny, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow your heart's strength. Follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow, my dear boy follow, follow, follow each sitting place, follow, follow the magic." Jake finished his happy tune. Carter smiled.

"That was nice. What does it mean?"

"Haven't a clue. Been trying to figure that out. I figured out the ham and ice berg mean, Hammelburg. And I figured out the lines leading to it's location, south, middle that sort of thing, and the name of the person we're looking for is Papa Bear. And we need to go into the forest, other than that. Not a clue."

"Well….I still say let's find where the agent is to meet us, and we'll work on the song alone the way. It's very catchy by the way. I like it."

"I'm surprised you never learned it, I learned it from some of the prisoners at my camp. They learned it from those back in England." Jake started to follow Carter. Carter shrugged.

"Guess I just didn't hang around with musicians."

"I still say we start in the woods, it would be safer. Besides that's where we need to go anyways."

"Maybe…but I wanna see if I can meet up with that agent." Carter randomly turned right, following the same path that the woman had taken several minutes before them.

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The two walked silently through the pitch black streets. Carter noticed that there we no one out, not even patrols looking for people, or members of the Heer, for which he was thankful for. They continued to walk, losing themselves in the various twisted and damaged streets, until both were utterly lost.

"Look up ahead." Jake whispered quietly, so that Carter could bearly hear. "Is that a pub of some sort?"

"Maybe…." Carter whispered in return, as the two got closer. Looking at the sign Carter nodded. "I think it is."

"Well let's get inside…maybe there will be a map."

"I dunno…it looks closed. Everyone is probably still in the shelters."

"Well come-on then! We don't have much time!" Jake pulled on Carter's elbow and led him to the door. Pulling out a long piece of metal, he started working on the lock.

"What are you doing?" Carter whispered panicked.

"Breaking in, what does it look like….there….almost. Bingo!" Jake stood back proud as the door swung open. Grabbing Carter's elbow again, he pulled him in, shutting the door behind him. "Now, map…we need a map…." Jake mumbled to himself. Carter looked around. The place was small. A serving table was to his left, and in front of him were several tables.

"Well aright…but hurry up please. I feel like we are being watched…."

"That is because you are." A man holding a Pistole stepped out of the shadows. Both Jake and Carter jumped half a metre. "Americans? English?"

"Nothing of the sort. Canadians." Jake came out from behind the serving table and faced the man.

"Canadians? Are you trying to escape?"

"What does it mean to you? We'll just take a map and be on our merry way."

"No I don't think so." The pub tender stepped forward. It was hard for either side to make the other out in the dark pub.

"No…?" Carter said panicked.

"No. How do I know you're not spies?" the man asked.

"Trust me, I can't be a spy if I don't understand a speck of German, now can I, eh?" Jake crossed his arms. "Besides. If I was a spy, would I really be speaking English to you now?"

"No…I suppose not. Why are you here?"

"To get a map I already told you. We'll be on our way."

"I don't have any maps. But I do have food, you must be starving. Come-on, hurry up. We'll talk in the back room." The man opened a door to the side of the room, feeling nervous both Carter and Jake followed him.

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Tiger kept rubbing her arms nervous, waiting for her contact. She kept going over her mind what happened, and wasn't sure what to tell her contact. Behind her, she heard footsteps and laid down on the ground. The footsteps got closer and closer, till she saw a darkened face looking in her direction. She silently got up off the ground, and approached the figure.

"'Abend. _(Evening.)_" Her voice giving away that she was French, the figure jump a little startled, and turned around, smiling.

"'Abend, 'ne schöne Nacht, oder? _(Evening, nice evening, isn't it?)_"

„Vielleischt, aber man muss vorsisch', sein. Isch hab' ge'ört, dass es ‚ier nen Bär giebt. _(Maybe, but one should be careful. I heard that there is a bear here.)_"

„Einen Papa Bär? _(A Papa Bear?)_"

„Stimmt, un' 'nen Tiger. _(Yes, and a Tiger.)_" Tiger smiled at one of Papa Bear's men.

"Where is he?" The figure whispered, afraid of being overheard, yet still switching to English.

"I dunno. The train must 'ave been caught in ze bombing….zey transported all ze people from ze spot to ze stayshun, but 'e vasn't zere." She was nervous. The man next to her nodded, soaking in the information.

"Alright. I'll let Papa Bear know…thank you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't bring bettair news. Please let your Papa Bear know 'ow sorry I am. And zat I vill be reyturning to France tomorrow."

"I will. Be safe."

"You too." She disappeared into the darkness, the contact watched her go, before he himself melted into the darkness.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The owner of the pub looked around nervously as the walked through the night, with the two prisoners. He was 99% sure that they were on the level, however he felt uncomfortable leaving them in his pub where he and his family lived. Swimming through the darkness, he lead the men out of town and towards a farm in the distance. He noticed immediately how both men became rigid with fright. He turned to calm them.

"It's alright. At that farm is a radio. We need it to get you out of here." The two former prisoners nodded nervous, and continued to follow him. The man lead them to a barn and pushed them both in.

"Stay put. I will be right back. Do not leave!" He shut the door, leaving the two men in a swarm of confusion as they turned around at the new setting. It was a barn full of hey, however Carter was unable to his great disappointment see any animals.

"Come-on, let's climb up into the loft." Jake suggested, leading the way. Carter nodded, and followed him. Once up in the small loft they saw a large pile of hey. Jake sneezed, causing Carter to jump.

"Sorry. I have an allergy to hey."

"Great…" Carter sighed throwing himself down on the pile.

"OUCH!" A voice came from where Carter had just sat, causing him to fall over backwards in his rush to get back up.

"Watch where ya sittin' will ya?" A head popped out from the hay.

"S-s-s-s-sorry!" Carter stuttered, starring at a darkened head in front of him, tying to make out the face, but was unable to.

"Whatcha doin' 'ere anyways? W'o are ya?" The figure emerged from the pile, dusting himself off.

"H-h-h-hiding?" Carter stammered again.

"'Idding, eh?"

"Who are you?" Jake stepped forward. "What are _you_ _doing_ here, eh?"

"'Idding, what's it look like?" The figured stepped forward trying to get a good look at the two men in front of him, starring at Jake. As the figured starred at Jake, all three men looked down as the barn door opened. Quickly hiding themselves all in the hey.

The man opened the barn, and entered quietly.

"Prisoners! Quick! Down here." With a rush, suddenly 6 men appeared at the bottom of the ladder facing the man from the pub. The man was surprised at the number of men coming down the ladder.

"W'at is it?" The figure who had been talking to Jake stepped forward. "W'at's wrong?"

"There are six of you? Nevermind it's too dangerous for me to know." The man took a step forward, to get a closer look at one of the prisoners.

"Newkirk? Is that you?"

"In the flesh."

"Newkirk, I can't make contact with Papa Bear. I fear there is something wrong. I found t two prisoners wondering around and…" The man drifted off. "I am really glad you're in here."

"Don't mention it." Newkirk thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll deliver them tonight, but I need some clothes. Go tell Herr Bauer to bring us a pair of men's clothing. I'll take it from 'ere."

"Thank you Newkirk." The man smiled, before turning back out the door. Newkirk turned to the dark figures near him.

"Alright, spill it. 'O are you?"

"Escaping prisoners. We are tying to get to Papa Bear, like yourself it seems." Jake explained, Carter was silent. _That name, Newkirk….that voice….._

"Alright. I can take ya to Papa Bear. But 'ow do I know ya're really prisoners?" Newkirk starred at Jake, as he was unable to make out any features of Carter in the pitch black barn. Jake smiled and sang his song. Newkirk smiled.

"Very well. W'en we get Bauer's clothin', we'll be on our way."

"Newkirk…are you sure. You need to stay here with us." The man whom Newkirk nicknamed, Captain America spoke up.

"Look, Captain America, if we're found with these guys 'ere, they'll be taken prisoner too. I'm gonna deliver 'em to Papa Bear."

"Newkirk….but you're German…."

"Sod off. I can do it. You lot stay 'ere." Newkirk crossed his arms offended, no one spoke up after that. Half an hour later, Newkirk was in civilian clothing, and Jake, Carter, Newkirk made their way out of the barn and towards the camp.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The three men started off into the darkness, staying as far away from any lights as possible. They walked single file, Newkirk leading, Jake in the middle, and Carter following last. Staying in the woods, Newkirk hopped they wouldn't run into any patrols returning from the raid. Unfortunately, their luck didn't hold up. Coming directly from the direction the group wanted to head was a group of Heer returning from the raid on foot. Newkirk squatted down, hoping they wouldn't notice the three of them, Jake and Carter followed in like fashion.

Newkirk stopped breathing as the first man passed, but as the second passed no more than a metre away, Jake sneezed again. Echoing through the woods like a gunshot pointing a large red arrow directly at the team.

"Ist jemand da? _(Is someone there?)_" One man, who looked to Newkirk to be no older than 18, yelled coming closer. "Wer sind Sie? _(Who are you?)_" Newkirk swallowed as the man got closer and looked down, directly at Newkirk's face. "Wer sind Sie? Was machen Sie hier? Antworten Sie mich! _(Who are you? __What are you doing here? Answer me!)_"

"W-W-Wir sind n-n-nur verloren, h-h-hat der Lufts-s-schutz- _W-W-We are o-o-only lost, the bom-m-mingraid h-h-had-)"_

„Was ist los mit dir (2)? Du stotterst. _(What is wrong with you? You stutter.)_" The younger made fun of Newkirk, as he instantly become rude.

„J-J-Ja...w-w-war's der L-L-Luftschutz- _(Y-Y-Yes... it w-w-was the b-b-bomingraid-)"_

„Was machst du denn hier, Stotterer? _(What are you doing here, Stutter?)_" The man pointed his rifle directly at Newkirk, as he spit at Newkirk's feet.

"I-i-ich sagte s-s-schon. W-W-Wir sind verloren, u-u-und versuchen n-n-nach H-H-Hause zugehen. _(I-I-I told you al-l-lready. W-W-We were lost, a-a-and were trying t-t-to go back H-H-Home.)"_"

Du musst mit mir kommen, Stotterer. Du weißt ,dass niemand nach 21 Uhr (3) draußen erlauben ist! _(You'll have to come with me, Stutter. You know that no one is allowed outside after 9PM!)_" He poked Newkirk with the barrel of his rifle.

„J-J-Ja...aber... (Y-Y-Yes….but….)"

„Steh auf! Los! _(Get up! Move!)_" The man grabbed Newkirk off the ground and started him forward. A second man, around the same age as the first walked over and pointed his rifle at Jake, not seeing Carter also lying on the ground in the dark. Jake, like Newkirk, was yanked off the ground and was sent forcefully forward. Newkirk and Jake exchanged glances, each with a look of fear in his eyes. Newkirk wanted to glance behind him to see what had become of the other prisoner, but didn't want to risk giving his position away. Newkirk let out a long sigh he had been holding and kept his eyes forward, trying to think of a way out of the situation.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

_(1) I know in the English version that when bombs rain down, they are true bombs. But in the German version usually they are something silly like chocolate or condom bombs. Even Döner meat once. The reason I went with the German cannon is because 1: it's silly and 2: I did not want to write a scene where Germany gets bombed by real bombs._

_(2) For those who are not familiar with German, there are two ways to say „you". One is "Sie" which is formal, polite, and used as a term of respect for people you don't know, or for those socially higher than you, and a way to denote distance, such as if you do not wish to be friends with the other. There is also "du", which is used among friends, family, people younger than yourself, but also can be extremely rude when used by strangers, and is a way to show that you are socially higher than another._

_(3) The 21:00 curfew was for those who were, well, considered not as uh, "Aryan" as others, who were allowed to have a curfew of 22:00_


	18. Chapter 18

Carter watched from his position on the ground as the patrol marched off with both Newkirk and Jake. Staying silent, he waited until they were nearly out of sight before he got off the ground. Thinking hard, Carter tried to figure a way out of the predicament, but nothing was coming to mind. _Might as well follow them_, he decided. Taking a few steps forward he followed the path that the Heer had taken only moments before, he tried to stay a good deal of a distance back, as to not be noticed by those in front of him. As Carter went along, he found he was able to get his footing easier with practice. He was still tripping occasionally on pieces of chocolate, and slipping on condoms left over from the raid_, I thought the Germans were the only ones using condom bombs (__1)_, Carter shook his head slowly, but was better able to walk silently. _At least I'm not stepping on twigs_, Carter smiled happily. _And my leg is keeping up…. _Carter absent mindly rubbed it again, _which is more than I can say for my nerves….but I dunno how much longer either are gonna last. _He started to depress himself.

The walk wasn't more than half an hour before the group ahead of Carter entered the town. He watched from the shadows as the men met up with another patrol, and then starting biding his time before he moved in. _I need to think of something, and quickly. _

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Newkirk stood still, watching Jake's movements as the patrol met up with another returning from the raid. Starring up at the sky, he tried to make out the constellations, but it was difficult with the bright moon, which had been hidden earlier by cloud cover. _Well, at least they had a bomber's moon tonight. _Newkirk smiled at the thought of all the Germans getting sick off of all the chocolate (2).

Newkirk turned as the men who captured them started talking loudly. With the bright moon no longer covered by clouds, he was able to easily make out the features of the men near him. One of the men, an older man than who was taking to the one who had captured Newkirk, turned and started walking directly towards him.

"Wie heißen Sie? _(What's your name?)_"

"E-E-Emil….Emil Tischb-b-bein (3)." Newkirk managed to come up with. He wasn't sure why that particular name was the first to jump into his head, but was alright by it.

"Emil Tischbein?" The man laughed. "Wie der Emil aus Emil und die Detektiv? _(As in Emil from __Emil and the Detective?)_" The group of Heer started laughing. Newkirk mentally slapped himself. Of course! That was where he heard it! He had been reading it last week after having swiped it off of Schultz.

"J-J-Ja, ja, der g-g-gleiche. _(Y-Y-Yeah, s-s-same name.)_" Newkirk smiled.

"Und wie heißt er? _(And what's his name?)_" The man pointed at Jake.

"Er? Ähm, J-J-Jacob Tischbein. M-M-Mein, mein Cous-s-sin. _(He? Uhm, J-J-Jacob Tischbein. M-M-My, my Cous-s-sin.)_" Newkirk quickly thought up. The older Heer man nodded slowly. Newkirk looked at him, he seemed to be in his early thirties, and Newkirk noticed that he was still just a Leutnant. "Also…d-d-dürfen wir d-d-denn g-g-gehen? _(So… m-m-may we g-g-go?)_" Newkirk asked tentatively.

"Nein. Leider nicht. Ich hab' einige Fragen für Sie. _(No. Unfortunately not. I have a few questions for you.)_" The Leutnant motioned for the men to give incentive to Newkirk and Jake as to move forward.

"Ähm….d-d-darf, darf ich f-f-fragen, woh-h-hin wir g-g-gehen? _(Um... m-m-may, may I a-a-ask, w-w-where we are g-g-going?)_"

„Ja...Sie _dürfen_ fragen...aber _antworte_ ich nicht. _(Yes… you _may_ ask… but I will not _answer_.)_"

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter watched as the patrol lead Newkirk and Jake inside a small building. He sat down in the shadows nearby and rubbed his leg, which he could tell from the discolouration was bleeding. Rubbing it again, Carter needed to make a non-lethal distraction, in which to rescue the men inside. _I wish I had help from that contact, but he is probably long gone_. Carter sighed depressed. Looking around, something here must be able to help me. Still sitting, giving his leg a rest, Carter looked around the shadowy ally.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"Warum waren Sie draußen? _(Why were you outside?)_" The same Leutnant yelled at Newkirk. Newkirk shrugged.

"W-W-Waren v-v-verloren. _(We w-w-were l-l-lost)_"

"Sie lügen! _(You're lying!)_"

"W-W-Wirklich? Und w-w-wieso m-m-mache ich d-d-das? _(R-R-Really? Und w-w-why would I d-d-do a th-th-thing like that?)_" Newkirk leaned casually back in the chair from the interrogation room.

"Ich weiß nicht. Aber Sie sind mit dem Untergrund! _(I dunno. But you are with the Underground!)_"

„Der Unterg-g-grund? N-N-Neiiiin. Als die A-A-Amis bombieren, laufen m-m-mein Cousin und i-i-ich. Wir war-r-ren im Haus a-a-als die Bombe f-f-fielen. A-A-Aber Gott sei d-d-dank, d-d-dass wir nicht z-z-zu H-H-Hause später waren. Das w-w-war in d-d-die L-L-Luft gegangen... _(The underg-g-ground? N-N-No. When the A-A-Americans were bombing, my Cousin and I-I-I ran. We wer-r-re at Home w-w-when the bombs started to f-f-fall. B-B-But th-th-thank God th-th-that we were not a-a-at H-H-Home later. It was destroyed)_" Newkirk buried his face in his hands, pretending to be heart broken. "M-M-Meine Frau…s-s-sie….s-s-sie… _(M-M-My Wife…. sh-sh-she…. sh-sh-she…) _" Newkirk continued to put on an act. The Leutnant's features softened, but he was still not convinced.

"Wieso denn genau waren Sie verloren? Und wo sind Ihre Papiere und Ausweise? _(Why exactly were you lost? And where are your papers and IDs?)_"

„V-V-Verloren! W-W-Wir l-l-liefen, und l-l-liefen, vers-s-suchen wir weg v-v-von d-d-den Bomben...und i-i-im Dunkel, könnten w-w-wir denn n-n-nicht s-s-sehen...und w-w-waren wir v-v-verloren. _(L-L-Lost! W-W-We r-r-ran, and r-r-ran, t-t-tried to get a-a-away from th-th-the Bombs… and i-i-in the Dark, w-w-we couldn't s-s-see anyth-th-thing… and g-g-got l-l-lost.)_" Newkirk hung his head in mock shame. The man acrossed from him stroked his chin.

"Na… _(Well…)_" The German rubbed the back of his neck, as if pondering. „Okay. Nichts passiert. Aber, ob ich Sie nach 21 Uhr noch mal draußen sehen... _(Alright. Nothing happened. But, if I see you outside again after 9PM...)_"

„Dank-k-ke. N-N-Nein, natürlich n-n-nicht. D-D-Danke, D-D-Danke! _(Tha-a-ank you! N-N-No, of course you w-w-won't. Th-Th-Thank you! Th-Th-Thank you!)_" Newkirk got up to go, when a second man walked in.

"Er spricht nur Französisch, Herr Leutnant! Keinen Deutsch! Und hat keinen Ausweis! _(He only speaks French, Lieutenant! No German! Und he has no ID Card!)_" Newkirk's breath became faster, as both men glared at him.

"Die F-F-Familie m-m-meiner Mutter waren F-F-Französisch. M-M-Mein C-C-Cousin war in Frankr-r-reich g-g-geboren. A-A-Aber, er wüsste, d-d-dass Deutschland und Nationalsozialism-m-mus n-n-naturlich besser w-w-war, und w-w-war nach Deutschl-l-land u-u-umgezogen. _(M-M-My Mother's f-f-family was F-F-French. M-M-My C-C-Cousin was b-b-born in F-F-France. B-B-But we knew th-th-that Germany and National Socialism w-w-was n-n-naturally better, and m-m-moved to Germ-m-many.)_" Newkirk quickly spun the tale, not realizing what he was going to say until he said it. "S-S-Sein Auswei-i-is w-w-war im Haus…, wie mei-i-in, a-a-als wir lie-e-efen. _(H-H-His ID C-C-Card i-i-is like mi-i-ine w-w-was in our house, w-w-when we r-r-ran.)_" The Leutnant laughed.

"Wirklich? Hahaha! Tja, los. _(Really? Hahaha. Okay, go.)_" He opened the door. "Meine Großmutter war Französisch. _(My Grandmother was French.)_" Newkirk smiled politely and exited. The second guard shook his head deeply ashamed and embarrassed at what the Leutnant had just did, but went and released Jake, before going to write a report up on his Leutnant.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter saw two figures exit the building. He tried to make them out, but as the moon was once again hidden behind the clouds it was near impossible in the darkened streets. Picking up the bottle off the ground, he positioned himself to strike, swinging it down on both men before either knew what happened.

Carter leaned down at the figures before him, and started to pull of one's dinner jacket, before realizing that it was no a uniform, but instead civilian clothes. Taking a closer look, he realized it was Jake and Newkirk. Carter crawled backwards, horrified at what he had just done. Taking a moment to compose himself he crawled back out. Instantly relived at both men still breathing.

"Jake…Jake….hey Jake…." Carter shook the man's shoulder quietly. "Jake…come-on buddy…wake-up….boy I'm sorry….come-on Jake…" Jake started to stir.

"What….what just hit me?"

"Um…I did." Carter admitted ashamed. Jake started to laugh, surprising Carter, but quickly stopped as the laughing wasn't helping his ranging headache.

"You have a good arm."

"Thanks…" Carter smiled. "I used to play baseball."

"I bet." Jake said as he rubbed his head, before turning to Newkirk. "Is he still alive?"

"Yeah, I think so. You know. With the pale moon light, through those clouds there, he is starting to look familiar…." Carter's eyes widened as the moon once again emerged. "It's! No… yes… but…. How… oh boy…." Carter sputtered finally realizing it was _Peter_ Newkirk, his former bunkmate.

"Care to explain?" Jake looked around, looking for a place to drag and hide Newkirk.

"He…. He….. we….." Carter was completely speechless. "Come-on. We gotta wake him up, or get him someplace safe. Something!" Carter was anxious as he felt guilty for bonking both on their heads, but even more so, since here in front of him was a man who had extended his friendship, yet Carter never got to explain why he suddenly left, and was going back to England without everyone.

Jake stood up, swinging Newkirk over his back, and wobbled towards the woods outside the town again, before laying him back down on the ground.

"Come-on, we need to wake him up." Jake started shaking Newkirk. "Come-on! Wake-up! Rise and shine!" Carter leaned in and started whistling Reveille, which received a strange look from Jake.

"What? The British I'm sure know it. We've been at their bases long enough, you know, and well-"

"Nevermind." Jake rolled his eyes. "Newkirk! Wake up, or there is a blond bird here to see you."

"Whaaaat?" Newkirk started to stir.

"I had a feeling that would work. It hasn't failed me yet with a Limey." Jake grinned at Carter. Carter looked down at Newkirk guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I really am. Boy am I ever sorry."

"Wait. 'At was you?" Newkirk tried to sit up, while his pounding headache told him to stay lying down.

"Um yeah. I can explain on the way, we need to get outta here-"

"Wait a minute. Blimey! You're Carter!" Newkirk's eyes went wide as he saw Carter's face clearly for the first time.

"Yeah…I am."

"Do ya know, 'ow 'ard we've been lookin' for ya! Bloody 'ell! We lost Klink cuz of ya! And Schultz! W'at the 'ell do ya think you were doin'! The guv was on 'is way to break ya out and everythin'!" Newkirk managed to stand up, although uneasy, and stare at Carter as he rubbed his head.

"Look! I'm sorry alright, boy!" Carter watched as Newkirk picked up a rock and throw it off into the distance. Scrunching up his face as he heard it impact, and was imagining his face on the receiving end.

"Come-on. The guv will be glad to see ya. NO runnin' off, ya 'ear me!" Newkirk fumed stilled rubbing his head. Carter merely nodded. Jake watched in horror and confusion at the interaction between the two, and decided to keep his distance. Newkirk groaned angry and started to lead the group towards Stalag Luft 13. Secretly relieved that he had found Carter, but also incredibly angry at what happened when he went missing in the first place.

Carter watched Newkirk, feeling more guilty by the second, that he had had no control over what had happened, and wishing he had never set foot in this war.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The troop slowly made their silent way over the damaged countryside. Newkirk fumed the entire distance, and in doing so was able to ignore his ranging headache, thinking only what to tell Colonel Hogan when he got back. Carter was second, slightly messaging his arm and leg. His arm had been hurting him since he fell out of the bunk a week and a half ago, as it hadn't had a chance yet to heal. He also rubbed his leg which, with every step, sent waves of fire through his body, but Carter was determined to ignore both, and focus first and foremost on what was going to happen to him once Colonel Hogan saw him again. Jake took up the rear, utterly confused at the obvious history between the two men in front of him. He wished with every step that he was back home with his girlfriend, and family. _In that order, _Jake smiled to himself.

''Ere." Newkirk crouched down next to a tunnel stump.

"What's this? Where are we?" Jake whispered. Newkirk grinned for the first time that evening.

"Why, we're 'ome!" He pealed back the stump, which much to his relief, was now hinged onto its lower half, instead of completely detached which it had been.

"'…Follow, follow, follow the tree stumps.'" Jake muttered to himself amazed.

"In ya go, don't wonder far." Newkirk indicated for Jake and Carter to climb down.

Carter climbed down, surprised to find a ladder where there had been earlier only a hanging rope, making his trip down a thousand times easier than his trip up.

"This is incredible!" Jake said upon reaching the bottom of the ladder. "Are we really underground?"

"Yes we are." Newkirk closed the stump above him before climbing down to join the others "Now follow me." Newkirk walked through the pitch black tunnel, yet seemed to know exactly where he was going. Carter and Jake were forced to make a train as they blindly followed the sound of Newkirk's footsteps. The three walked in silence for several minutes before Newkirk suddenly stopped. Carter having been only once in the tunnels had no idea where they were at, yet Newkirk seemed to know exactly. He walked over a few steps, followed by the sound of the movement of objects, before he struck a match which lit up the room like a firework.

"'Ere we go." Newkirk help up a candle. You fellas wait 'ere okay? I'm gonna go get the Colonel." Newkirk handed Carter the candle.

"Wait. Colonel who? I thought I was meetin with Papa Bear?" Jake asked confused.

"You are. 'E's just upstairs." Newkirk turned and walked towards another tunnel section, leaving a very nervous Carter, and an excited Jake alone.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter was watching was his entire life flashed before his eyes…and he wasn't enjoying the ending. His breath was short and he felt adrenaline shooting through his body. He had no idea what to say to Colonel Hogan when he saw them, especially if everything Newkirk said was true. But there were so many questions he had. He was still utterly confused as to why he ended up going on a train-blowing-up escapade anyways. And his mind was still racing about what the Gestapo man said about his brother. _Maybe Colonel Hogan had helped him out of Germany too?_ If what Jake said was true, then it was possible….maybe his brother was really alive…. Carter turned as he heard movement coming down the hall, and a shadowy figure appeared. As the light danced across his face, Carter could make out Colonel Robert Hogan.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Jake jumped to attention and gave Hogan a sharp salute.

"Jacob Warrington, Flying Officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force!" Jake could barely contain his excitement. Hogan glanced over at him, and gave a half-hearted salute back before turning his full attention back at Carter.

"Welcome back, Sergeant Carter." Hogan's voice was pleasant, but his eyes gave him away as a man who was as far from the pleasantries in his voice as Siberia was a tropical paradise.

"Um…Sir." Carter raised his hand to give a salute as well, before Hogan waved him away. Hogan turned to Jake who was still standing next to Carter.

"Flying Officer Warrington. I'm curious, how did you find out about our little establishment?" Hogan leaned against the tunnel wall, splitting his attention between Jake and Carter.

"Well, Sir, I heard about it from the men in my prison camp. They taught me a song, and I just followed it here." Jake was slightly shaking with excitement at the prospect of going home.

"Ah I see. I'm curious, which one was it?"

"'Follow, follow, my dear boy follow'."

"Oh I've always liked that one. My other favourite, is 'do you know the papa bear'? Anyways. Where did you break out of?"

"A Dulag Luft. I was sent there after being in the hospital. I was injured when they shot me down."

"Ah I see." Hogan was only partly paying attention. "Anyways, Newkirk here will get you fixed up. There isn't anything we can do tonight, but we should be able to get you out of here within the next few days."

"Thank you, Colonel! Thank you so much!" Jake in his excitement gave another salute before being pushed out of the room by Newkirk. Hogan turned to Carter who was still holding the candle.

"Carter, come with me. I want to talk to you." Hogan said seriously, leading Carter ahead of him down the tunnel, and into a small, private section. Carter's heart felt as if it were trying to leap out of his chest.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan and Carter walked to the recently established parlour at the end of the tunnel for some privacy, even though almost all the men were still out having "escaped", Hogan didn't wish for the conversation to be overheard by those still in the tunnel. Sitting down Hogan leaned forward and focused all his attention on Carter, who hung his head down and starred at the ground.

"Alright Carter," Hogan kept his voice calm, even though inside he was screaming, "tell me exactly what happened. Do not leave any detail out." Hogan waited as Carter took a minute in starting.

"Well, Sir…" Carter fiddled with his thumb, "I was going out to the latrine. And boy, that is all I was gonna do, you know? And well…I was walking back and I see this guy go under the dog pin. So I figure he is escaping. And boy, I wanted to join! So I snuck over there too! And I get down there, well here, since we are in the tunnel, and I'm walkin' around, and I see a radio. And then this guy comes up, and well, gives me this tour. Then he tells me since I'm an expert in explosives, which I really don't consider myself, since well, I mean I was gonna go to school for it, well what I mean is I will, well I want to, and I kinda already did there, but since I really like chemicals, I did experiments as a kid with my twin brother-"

"'Twin brother'?"

"Yeah. He's my twin. Except he's older."

"Identical twins?"

"Yep. We used to pull pranks on my mom and dad all the time. Well more my mom, since she was around more, with my dad working and-"

"And your brother was Air Force?"

"Yeah." Carter shrugged, as he looked up. "You know something funny. I mean not funny-funny, like haha-funny. But strange-funny. When I was being interrogated by the gestapo… the major who was doing it, said my brother was alive." Carter got a funny look on his face. Hogan's eyes suddenly went wide as his mind raced trying to process everything. He got up and putting his hands on his head started to pace.

"Wait! Wait! Wait just a second! You were interrogated by the gestapo? Hold on… they said your brother was alive? Wait." Hogan was trying to process too many ideas at once as they all came tumbling out of his mouth. "Major who?"

"Ummm…I'm not sure, boy, I mean I wasn't really paying attention. Not with what they were doing to me." Carter shook his head and shuddered. Hogan stopped pacing and looked sadly and worriedly at Carter.

"Did you talk?"

"Well I sang the ABCs a couple of dozen times…I think? And I started spinning tales, but other than that no."

"What all did they do….?" Hogan wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. As he saw for the first time the dark circles under Carter's eyes, the tiredness of his voice, and the blood on his pant leg as he rubbed it.

"They forced me to listen to German Opera! I hate Opera! And I had to eat Döner meat…. without the rest of the Döner! And to top it all off, I had to sit through every one of that Nutbar's speeches, before reading War and Peace to everyone! (4)" Carter yelled out his frustration. Hogan half fell and half sat down as he heard Carter's description of what happened.

"Andrew…. I…. I'm sorry." Hogan spoke softly, with genuine sympathy in his voice. Carter didn't say anything, his back was to Hogan as he had stood up during his shouting match. "Andrew….I tried to get you outta there…what happened…how did you escape? What happened to your leg?"

"It wasn't hard." Carter shrugged again, not yet turning around. "If you know your chemistry you can open almost any lock. Soap can be turned into a corrosive acid if you know what you are doing. After that all it is, is a matter of steal a uniform and not talking much. Easy as cake."

"Isn't it Pie? Anyways," Hogan muttered before he quickly went on, "you turned your soap into acid?"

"It's more complicated that than, but that's the general gist yeah. As for my leg, I cut it while escaping." Carter turned around, and sat back down.

"You sure know your chemistry." Hogan was truly impressed.

"Well I had to get out of there, boy! I had to get back to England, I have to know what happened to my brother…. and get home to Mary Jane."

"That brings me to another point, Carter." Hogan paused as he wanted to word the next section carefully. "Your twin brother. What was his name again?"

"Anthony Jimmy Carter. Well, Anthony Jim Carter. Well Jimmy. We called him Jimmy."

"I see….um….what was his rank?"

"Lieutenant." Hogan's eyes went as wide as they could go.

"And…and…." Hogan could bearly contain his voice as he asked the next question. "You said that the major who interrogated you said he was alive? Did he say how he knew this?" He held his breath, and could hear his heart race in his ears.

"Um yeah. It was weird. He said his informant in England says he keeps track of everyone who manages to escape back. And he wanted to know how my brother made it back to England." Carter scrunched up his face again slightly confused. A moment paused before both men realized what had happened.

"Holy cow!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"That was your brother!"

"It was you!"

"It all makes sense now!"

"Wait…. Wouldn't I have been informed if he hadn't been killed in action and had been captured instead?" Carter's enthusiasm was being quickly replaced once again with confusion. Hogan quickly intervened.

"Not necessarily. They must have assumed he died when his plane crashed, and he must have been in a POW camp a while. It takes a while for the Red Cross to get names, and from there to here, he was I believe up north-"

"The major said Stalag Luft IV."

"Yeah that's Northeast. It takes several days, if not weeks to get there, and from here it can take days or weeks to get to the meet point, and from there weeks or months to get back to England."

"Oh. So he probably got back…wait…I would have still been in England. He should have visited me!"

"Probably wanted to. And the Red Cross would have informed you, but seeing how busy they are, they probably got around to it after you left." Hogan laughed. Carter cracked a small smile. Hogan sighed with relief. "How did you meet up with Newkirk again?" Carter told the tale from after he escaped from the prison to managing to book a hotel, to escaping from Hogan, "I couldn't face you, Sir," to running into the underground, "you were really lucky, Carter", to the train bombing, and the owner of the pub.

"Hahaha! I'll have to thank him." Hogan smiled.

"Newkirk really saved us. He managed to talk his way out of being killed."

"Newkirk spoke German….to Germans?" Hogan's eyes were full of surprise. "And he lived?"

"Well, yeah. His German is really good. Better than mine."

"And he lived?"

"Yeah…Sir." Hogan tried to wrap his mind around that concept. Everything he had ever heard was truly negative when it came to people with disabilities such as stutters. Slowly an idea started to play in his head. _If Newkirk can pass as a German who stutters, it would be one more small way to fight back, disproving the theory of their ethnically crazy purity laws… _Hogan smiled.

"Um, Colonel?" Hogan turned as he heard Newkirk's voice softly floating from behind him. "Sorry to interrupted. But I took care of the Canadian, und I am gonna 'ead back to the barn, seein' as I should be 'ere when they come lookin' for us."

"Thanks Newkirk."

"Night, guv. Carter."

"Wait. Newkirk?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Did you really put talk your way out of being thrown in jail tonight?"

"Well I dunno if I'd go 'at far. It was a bit of fun though." Newkirk smiled. Hogan nodded considering what Carter had said.

"Alright, night Newkirk."

"Night, guv." Newkirk disappeared down the blanked tunnel. Hogan turned back to Carter.

"Well Carter. For now I am going to keep you down here, until I get things sorted out with Klink and Schultz. After that we can figure out what to do with you."

"What do you mean? Sir, what exactly goes on here?"

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now." Hogan chuckled. Carter shook his head. He was so tired it was like trying to think through cotton.

"We are our own private underground resistance group. We help downed flier like your brother get back to England. And lately we have been going outside the wire and doing a little sabotage. Such as the mission that you went on."

"Oh." Carter tried to process the information. "Wow! That's neat, doing all that from inside a prison camp…we are under it aren't we?"

"That's right."

"Boy! That's neat!"

"Well I need to get some shut-eye before my very own roll call tomorrow. I will lead you to the Flier's Quarters and give you a few matches. If you need anything just holler, someone will hear you. If they don't there is a bell, I don't want you wondering around down here. I will be gone most of the time tomorrow morning, since being the currently only prisoner, it is suspicious for me to disappear too long, but I will come back and check on you. I want to talk some more."

"Thank you, Sir." Hogan lead a limping Carter to a cot. After making sure he was settled, and helping him to put on a fresh bandage, as Wilson was outside the wire, he went back up to sleep, feeling better and more at ease than he had since the lorry first brought Carter in a week and a half ago.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan woke the next morning still worn out, but felt that the day hold some good potential. Langenscheidt enter he barracks and brought Hogan out of the building and into the early morning light. Oberfeldwebel Bähr nodded as he saw that Hogan was still here, before turning to report to his father that their one prisoner had indeed not escaped during the night. Langenscheidt dismissed Hogan, before going to attend to his other duties, leaving Hogan alone to ponder his next move. Summing up his courage, he went to talk to Burkhalter about his men. Hoping that by getting the General to act, that he would be able to bring back both Klink and Schultz.

Hogan entered the office, winked at Helga as she was trained her replacement, Hilda, before stepping into Klink's old office.

"Das stimmt. Nein. Das ist mir scheiß egal, Klink! Ähm? Doch. Doch, Klink! Bis dann! Auf Wiederhören! _(That's right. No. I don't give a damn, Klink! Hm? No it isn't. No it isn't, Klink! See you then! Goodbye!)_" Burkhalter yelled into the phone. Hogan looked at him curious.

"Trouble in the happy family?"

"Hogan what are you doing here?" Burkhalter spun around in Klink's chair.

"Wer ist dieser Mann? Was macht dieser Mann hier? (5) _(Who ist his man? What is this man doing here?)_" Hochstetter who had been standing to Burkhalter's right stepped forward, pointing his finger at Hogan. Burkhalter rolled his eyes, since Bähr had already explained that to him the day before.

"Colonel Hogan. What are you doing here?" Burkhalter leaned calmly forward across Klink's old desk.

"I was just checking o see if any of my men were found. Or if they all made it to Switzerland, in which case, I would like to request some cake and streamers. Have a little party you know." Hogan smiled as he slid down into the chair.

"Hogan…." Hochstetter sneered. "You will tell us where your men are. Or things can get quite….unpleasant for you."

"What? More unpleasant than this conversation?" Hogan reached to take a cigar off Klink's desk, but Hochstetter's hand flew down and struck his.

"Hogan-"

"Major." Burkhaler stood up giving a stern look towards Hochstetter, before turning back to Hogan. "As a matter of fact, Hogan, your men are already being dealt with." He crossed over so he was looking directly down at Hogan, who swallowed nervously.

"What….what do you mean? 'Being dealt…dealt with?'" Hogan had visions of all his men having been recaught while he was sleeping.

"Oberst Klink and Feldwebel Schultz will be here by the end of the day." Burkhalter shook his head disappointed. Hogan tried to hide the smile on his face by handing his head down.

"Oh."

"And if you try anything, anything before they arrive, I will insure that you are not here to great your men when they return. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly." Hogan stood up slowly, continuing the act of a defeated man. "By the way. Where is Kommandant Linguist?"

"Kommandant _Bähr_! He is currently packing." Burkhalter had a bad taste in his mouth. "Aber ich versteh' noch nich' wie es möglich war, dass alle die Männer geflogen sind. Bähr _war_ ein starker Mann. _(But I still don't understand how it is possible, that all of the men escaped. Bähr _was_ a strong man.)_" Hochstetter continued to stare at Hogan.

„Isch weiß..., und isch weiß, dass es ihn nicht allein war. Es gibt jemand, jemand hier, der möglich macht- _(I know..., and I know that it wasn't him alone. There is someone, someone here, who makes it possible-)"_

„When is Klink arriving?" Hogan interrupted Hochstetter before he was able to finish his thought.

"None of your concern Hogan. Dismissed." Burkhalter puffed on a cigar. Hogan shrugged and turned the handle on the door.

"I'm watching you Hogan…."

"Well if you really don't have anything better to do, Major. Than by all means. I am just a simple prisoner."

"Hogan…if you are a simple prisoner than I am Winston Churchill."

"I've always wanted to meet you, Winnie. But I would have thought Burkhalter here would be more appropriate," Hogan patted his belly, "for the role."

"Hogan! Out!" Burkhalter yelled pointing at the door.

"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving!" Hogan smiled as he shut the door before him. Indeed, this day held much potential.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

_(1) In one episode, since in the German version the bombs tend not to be „real", the Germans dropped bombs filled with condoms on England, in the hopes they would stop reproducing._

_(2) The Allies would drop chocolate on Germany in order to give everyone stomach aches, and in hopes of rotting their teeth, in order to get them to hopefully surrender._

_(3) I got this name from a very famous, required reading, children's book: Emil und die Detektiv by Erich Kästner._

_(4) Sorry guys. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't write a torture scene. Yes I alluded to it earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I've been to the real places, and see firsthand where and with what these HORRIFIC practices took place, and in good conscious I could not write it. So I took a page out of cannon and went with something completely unrealistic, and silly. Besides, who knows, maybe Hochstetter would have done this instead, we all know he's a little strange (he hangs out with Klink after all :P )_

_(5) Again, I do not own either of these lines._


	19. Chapter 19

Hogan walked back to Barrack Two, scheming about how to keep both Klink and Schultz at the camp. It was obvious to him, that at some point they would need to deal with Carter's escape, and the repercussions of that, but Hogan didn't want to deal with Carter at the moment. _Yet, that would be the first step,_ he sighed as he opened the door. _I need to continue to speak with him, and figure out what to do about him. Should I send him back to England, like I was planning? I very much doubt he wants to become a prisoner again. _Hogan flopped himself onto his bunk, not bothering to take off his boots, which were hanging over the side of the bed. He covered this eyes with his hands. _This whole mess is just one more big headache. I wish I could talk to London and get that background check on him! _Hogan pounded the bed once with his right fist. _Of all times to get a mole in intelligence! And it's been almost two weeks with no contact! I'm beginning to feel completely cut off from the rest of the world!_ Hogan covered his face again, as he turned to lay on his side so he was facing the wall. He hadn't been this depressed in a while. _I just need to keep focusing on what lies ahead. I should be able to keep Klink and Schultz here if I play my cards right. Burkhalter is already convinced that the two will find the rest of the guys, but what should I do about Hochstetter? And Carter?_ Hogan opened his eyes as he sighed. _One thing at a time, Robby. One thing at a time. First. Talk to Carter, you can't do anything more right now about the Germans. But Carter. Carter you can deal with now._ He let out a breath before taking another deep one as he sat up. Walking out of his room, he glanced out the windows to see if anyone was looking, before climbing down into the tunnels.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter was sitting on the bunk in the flier's room, he was playing cards with Jake, who was sitting on the bunk next to him. Jake put down a set of cards onto a crate, just as Hogan walked in. Looking up, both Jake and Carter stood up as he entered the room.

"Sir!" Jake sharply saluted. Carter smiled, saluting as well. Hogan grinned.

"At ease, gentlemen. No need to be so formal." He returned the salute. What are you two playing?" Hogan couldn't make the game out in the dim light of a single candle.

"Old Maid." Carter answered. Hogan shrugged.

"I, uh, see." Hogan walked over so he was beside the two men. "Carter. I would like to speak with you, that is, if I may interrupted the game."

"Oh sure, Sir, boy, that's not a problem. I'm winning anyways."

"No you aren't." Jake shook his head, laughing. "As the Colonel can plainly see, I have more pairs than you do."

"Well at least I don't have the Old Maid." Carter laughed as he stood up, putting the rest of his cards upside down onto his bunk.

"Alright, enough. You may finish your game in a moment. Carter…" Hogan tilted his head in the direction he wanted them to go. He lead the two of them down into the parlour area, where they had spoken last night. Hogan paused before speaking, as the two men sat down and he lit a candle.

"Carter…-"

"Please Sir. I know, I thought about it all last night. I shouldn't have gone out. I know that now. I put a lot of people in danger. It just happened so fast…-"

"Carter, I'm not here to punish you. I simply want to talk to you. We have a decision to make. And I cannot make it without knowing your wishes."

"Colonel?"

"You are still officially a prisoner here. Now, I can make certain things happen, if I know the whole truth about somethings, and if I know where we stand."

"Alright."

"Okay." Hogan took a deep breath. "Why did you come back here? Why didn't you escape all the way?"

"Well, I was getting help from the underground. Like that man who brought me to the barn where Newkirk was hiding." Carter played with his left thumb nervously.

"I see. What made you come here? Why not Switzerland?"

"Well, Sir. I, um, wanted to get back to England. And the resistance said the only way to do that was through you." Carter started to play with the dirt on the tunnel floor with his shoe, making circles. Hogan nodded as he listened. "Although….I didn't know that at the time…I just wanted to get back to England."

"I understand that. I really do. More than anything I want to be home in Bridgeport. But I'm here for the duration."

"Sir. Why don't you escape? I mean, you obviously have the resources."

"Well….we thought about it. When I was first brought here. Klink had only been Kommandant a few weeks, I was one of the first Americans in the camp. And we seriously considered it. But things happened, and now we help others out."

"Oh."

"We are doing a lot of good here. Right under the noses of the Germans." Hogan studied Carter's face. Carter nodded, thinking back to helping Jake on the train. It felt good to fight back again, even if this time he wasn't in a plane.

"Yeah I know the feeling. Like when I helped Jake on the train. I felt as if I were doing good. Helping another former prisoner. And on the mission to the tracks, it felt good to be fighting against the Germans." Carter looked up. Hogan nodded and started to open his mouth, but was suddenly interrupted by James.

"Colonel Hogan? I'm sorry to interrupt. But the American Red Cross is on the radio, Sir." James watched as his CO jump up off the bench.

"If you will excuse me for one moment Carter! I will be right back!" Hogan yelled over his shoulder and didn't hear Carter's answer of "Sure thing, Colonel", before he was down the hall and into the radio room, talking through a multiple set of radio operators.

"Papa Bär, over." Hogan told the contact on the other side, who transferred the message to a second, third, and finally to the Red Cross Office in New York.

"Ah Papa Bear." A young female answered the third contact. "I have the answer one of your men was looking for. I apologise for the delay, but it took some time locating the paper work."

"Thank you for your hard work. Please, what does it say?"

"Well Anthony Jim Carter, Lieutenant, United States Army Air Force, serial number-"

"Sorry to interrupt. But do you have the information on Andrew Jonathan Carter?"

"I had a feeling you would ask me that. Yes I do."

"Please read it to me."

"Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant, United States Army Air Force, serial number 02763350, born 1 August 1919 in Bullfrog North Dakota. Entered Command School before being washed out as he was considered "Not Officer Material." Finished training and received the rank of Sergeant. Shipped over to England. Where he was reassigned to the 321st , ,and was on a mission to Africa when he was listed Missing In Action." The women finished. Hogan listened as the contact closest to him relayed the message. He nodded.

"What about the brother? What does his file say?"

"Same basic information. Graduated Command School, becoming an officer. Was listed Killed In Action Eight Months ago. This was updated two days ago, which is how I found the file, to being stationed again in England. Apparently he broke out of a POW camp in Germany. Stalag Luft IV."

"Thank you! You have been most helpful!" Hogan couldn't contain his excitement, and wondered if the contacts between him and the Red Cross conveyed his excitement correctly. He thanked the woman, and mentioned he may ask for the files again, before signing off. Drumming his fingers on the desk for a moment, Hogan digested the information. _So Carter isn't a traitor, he isn't a spy, and he isn't even the Lieutenant who came through here five months ago._ Hogan smiled. Yes, today was turning into a very good day.

Hogan walked and sat back down on the bench in their "parlour".

"Sorry for that interruption. Now where were we?"

"Talking about my escape, Colonel." Carter felt nervous again, he looked away from Hogan's face, even thought it was difficult to make out in the dark light.

"Ah that's right. Given the choice, Carter, would you want to escape from here?"

"Oh boy, yes! I mean, Sir." Carter's eyes lit up. Hogan nodded slowly, leaning back on the bench, figuring out how to word the next sentence.

"Carter….I uh, want to make you an offer, you may say 'no' to this offer. But I want you to hear me out first."

"Alright, Colonel."

"But before I do that, I have some good news for you. Your brother is alive, and in England."

"REALLY? I mean, he is? Honoustly! ALIVE? Mom and Dad will be so happy to hear that!" Carter jumped up off the chair, he couldn't believe it. "Jimmy! Jimmy is alive! Oh Snoopy will be happy to see him!" Hogan chuckled at the young man. "How…I mean… how… how did you find this out, Colonel?" Carter stopped his celebration for a moment as he turned to Hogan, who grinned.

"I have friends in the Red Cross."

"Oh boy! Oh thank you, Colonel!" Carter took a step forward to give the man a hug, but stopped himself, wrapping his arms around his elbows instead. "Oh boy! Jimmy! Jimmy!"

"I'm glad I could be the one to deliver the good news." Hogan smiled one last time before becoming serious. "Now onto a more serious subject. Carter, before I continue, I have another question for you. And I want a completely honoust answer."

"Sure, Sir."

"Why did you wash out of Command School?" Hogan got quiet as leaned forward and studied Carter's face. His face told him, even though the darkness, that this was not a topic he wanted to discuss.

"I….uh….I'm….I'm not 'officer material'."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because….because….because when I was at CS I blow up one of the buildings, alright! I'm not proud of it! I was just a mistake!" He walked a few paces away. "They were going to make me an Ordnance Officer! But I blow it all away! My career exploded before me! My dreams into dust! It's not fair! I didn't kill anyone! Just the building! It was an accident! And for that, they denied me my bar." Carter had his back to Hogan, he didn't want him to see how upset he truly was.

"I see."

"I became a bomber instead. Apparently they figured it was safer if I dropped them, instead of dealing with them."

"I won't say that I am not disappointed, Carter. But we will come back to that in a moment. How did you end up in Germany? You were on your way to Africa." Hogan tilted his head so he could see Carter's better, although Carter still had his back to Hogan.

"Please Sir. I don't want to talk about it." Carter said quietly.

"I need to know. Tell me what happened." Hogan crossed his arms as he leaned back. Carter keeping his back to him, sighed as he thought back to the event. He somehow ended up in a bombing raid of Germany. He still didn't know exactly how that happened, especially since they were flying in formation, _and_ since Africa is large and hard to miss…

"We…got lost."

"'Got lost'? How?"

"I dunno, Colonel! I really don't! Yet, somehow we got out of _our_ formation and into the formation heading for Hamburg!"

"How is that even possible?"

"I told you, I don't know, Colonel! I was just the bombardier! I was told to drop, so I did! I don't question the pilots, they hate that." Carter was angry. Hogan snickered, having been a bomber pilot himself.

"And you ended up over Hamburg. Weren't you curious as to the duration of the flight, and the fact that Germany doesn't look a thing like Africa?"

"They said, 'bomb' so I bombed. And the next thing I know we are going down. I don't question when people give me orders. Officers hate that."

"I see." Hogan paused for a minute, as the new information sank in, slightly wondering if these are the reasons Carter got his Bad Luck Charm nickname. Thinking it over for a minute, he decided to move on the next important topic. "Carter…. as I said before, you are still officially a prisoner here, and as such, we can't continue our operation until you are found." Hogan leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him. Carter turned back towards his CO, and sat glumly down.

"I see…"

"However." Hogan paused. "However, there are two ways we can go about this." He paused again. Carter looked up at his CO, his breathing gave away that he was nervous as to the two options. Hogan stood up, and took a few steps in a slow pace.

"Now. As I asked you before, if you still wanted to escape. This is because I am placing a set of crossroads before you, and you will then have to choice which road you take. I can get you back to England easy enough. But." Hogan turned to face Carter. Carter starred at him as the light dance across his face, making each detail seem deeper and more defined. "Would you like to stay here? We have never had an explosives expert before. You are the first. And you speak German, which would grant you special privileges. That combination would make you a true asset to our humble little team if you choose to stay." Hogan started at Carter. Carter's mouth dropped slightly as the choice sunk into his brain. "Now. If you choose to stay here, your job would primarily be explosives. Lately London has had us starting to bomb different targets, and it seems a trend that it likely to continue. You would have feel range of what chemicals you need, and any supplies. You would be the authority on them, and in charge of all related sabotage."

"Mmme? I'm not, not an exxxperrrrt." Carter shook his head clearly uncomfortable. "You can't trust me around them. My rank is proof of that!" Carter slumped depressed further into the chair, he wanted to hide from the conversation and the subject matter. It was hard enough facing each morning to the stripes on his sleeves, but having others know why he had them, was more than Carter could take. But he would have been lying to himself if he wouldn't admit he wasn't interested, chemistry was his passion, but he couldn't take it if he blew up yet another lab and hurt someone this time. Especially if it was Colonel Hogan or Newkirk; two men he was coming quickly to like and respect.

"Like I said, it is your choice. I will give you the day to think about it. It is a large decision." Hogan paused a moment, watching the wheels turn in Carter's head. "But I think that you would be a perfect candidate. Everyone here has made the choice to stay, we are all volunteers. Some do sewing, others radio, others build the supplies we need, and on down the line. Based on what I know of you, you could easily become a vital part of our team, but more than that, one of my main men. I currently have four, all speak German, as you do." Hogan watched as Carter's mind race as it found an internal struggle. "I'll let you think on it for-"

"I'll do it." Carter stood up, meeting Hogan's gaze.

"It's alright if you need time to-"

"Please, Colonel. I want to do it. You said yourself you don't have someone who knows these chemicals. I do. And I would be selfish if I went back to England, when I can continue the fight here. I speak German, although badly if the looks I got from the underground were any indication. But I'll work hard on that. Please Sir. Let me join you."

"Alright, Carter." Hogan nodded slowly. "I will accept your decision, but I am still going to give you the standard 24 hours to think it over before we move. Until then, we will make arrangements for your recapture."

"Thank you, Sir."

"And after two weeks, if you still stand by your decision, we will fill out the necessary paperwork to make it official, and swear you in."

"Paper work? Swear me in?"

"You didn't think that just because we are Prisoners of War working with the resistance that there wouldn't be paperwork, did you?"

"Well…yeah…I mean….what if it's found?"

"We have plans in place to burn it." Hogan shrugged nonchalantly. "Now, I will lead you back to the flier's quarters and have a few of the men down here, prepare you a uniform, and a coverstory for your recapture."

"Thank you, Colonel Hogan."

"We live to serve." Hogan smiled as he disappeared down the hall, Carter picked up the candle and followed him.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Schultz was the first to arrive back at Stalag Luft 13, that evening. In one hand he held his duffel, and in the other a large Bretzel. As he climbed out of the LKW, he looked around smiling. He was home! And not the one with his wife! Spinning around, he started off towards the guard's quarters, as Burkhalter slowly wondered out of Klink's office and towards Schultz. Hogan watched from his window smiling.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Newkirk looked out the window as he heard the guards nearing. He smiled at the sight of Schultz leading the way towards the barn. Crawling away from the window he sat down next to the three men hiding with him in the barn.

"Now. W'o was it 'at owes me five notes?"

"Know something we don't, Peter?" Mathew leaned back on the straw.

"Yeah. 'At you of ya owes me five notes. Schultz is comin' down the road as we speak."

"Well, if I have to give you five, so does Thompson here."

"Thanks buddy. Some friend you are." Thompson gave Mathew a dirty look.

"What? It's true. You took the same bet-"

"Oh shut up, Mathew." Thompson reached into his wallet as there the barn door flew open.

"Alright! Anyone in here who isn't a cow, or chicken, or some animal get out here!" Schultz's voice boomed through the tiny barn.

"Technically Schultzie. Humans are an animal." Newkirk leaned over the loft and looked down at the guard.

"Yes, but they don't live in barns. So get down here, New-kirk."

"Right-o, Schultzie." Newkirk climbed down followed by his three fellow prisoners. "Now. Where would the next fellow be hiding, Newkirk?" Schultz leaned closed to Newkirk's ear as he whispered.

"Well, if I were 'em Schultz, I would try a cave."

"Right….know any caves?"

"Yep. 'At way." Newkirk pointed back the way Schultz had apparently just travelled.

"Thanks Newkirk." Schultz stood up straight. "Diesa Richtung, gell! _(This direction, 'K!)_"

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Hogan tossed and turned in his bunk, as he thought about Schultz out finding his men. Schultz had left several hours earlier to track down the rest of the men, and Hogan couldn't help but wonder how it was going. Flopping over onto his side, he tried to think of a way to keep Klink from being sent away again. _Carter being found should help. His record would once again be clean, and that should help Burkhalter to leave him alone. But Hochstetter. Now he is a problem. And it seems that this will not be my first or last meeting with him. I have a feeling I will meet him again…._

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The next morning dawned the same as the last few with Hogan as a single prisoner. He emerged expecting to see his men back in place, but was disappointed to see no-one. Curious as to what was going on, Hogan stormed over to see Burkhalter.

Barging through the door, he found the man sitting behind Klink's desk doing paperwork.

"Any luck, General? I-"

"Ah Hogan. Yes, do come-in and sit down." Burkhalter's inflection was friendly, causing alarm in Hogan.

"Alright. But if you're this pleasant, I have a feeling I'm not gonna like it." Hogan sat down on the edge of the chair.

"By all means, Hogan, you should be happy to know that you are no longer the only prisoner here."

"No…. you found them? Are they in Switzerland?"

"No Hogan. They are in the cooler."

"Cooler? All of them? You fit everyman here, aside from myself in the cooler?" Hogan had visions of sardines.

"Not everyone. Schultz although did manage to locate a surprising 150 last night though…" Burkhalter couldn't figure it out. In his Opinion, the man couldn't locate a button on his shirt.

"Wait. Are you telling me that a 150 men are in the cooler? Isn't overcrowding against the Geneva Convention?"

"No, Colonel Hogan it is not. And if you Allies would stop bombing our country, you wouldn't have to worry about overcrowding." The two men starred at each other.

"We'll see." Hogan replied coldly.

"You're men will be out shortly. Oberst Klink should be arriving later today. Although he would have been here sooner if he would just get on a plane…" Burkhalter muttered as he shook his head. Hogan gave him a confused look, but said nothing. "Feldwebel Schultz is once again in charge of the guards at this Stalag Luft. So I recommend, Hogan, that you once again give up your ideals of escaping, and deal with the reality that you will never leave this camp." Burkhalter starred at Hogan.

"Thank you for those warm words of encouragement, General." Hogan replied sarcastically. "Now may I see my men?"

"No."

"General… may I see my men? I am the Senior POW Officer here, and I want to see my men, and ensure that Schultz didn't harm them." Hogan stood up, and placed both his hands in front of him on the desk. Burkhalter looked up, not the least bit timid by Hogan's tone.

"No, Colonel." Burkhalter stood up meeting Hogan's gaze, and also placed both his hands on the desk in like fashion. "I saw your men and they are in a fine condition. Now leave this office, before I have someone throw you out." Burkhalter watched as Hogan bit his lip to keep from replying and stormed out of the office.

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Walking across the yard, Hogan saw another LKW come in packed with prisoners who were immediately sent to the cooler. He glanced at his watch. It was only 8:12 in the morning. Doing a quick calculation, he figured that Schultz would have every prisoner found by the next evening. Quicking his pace, He decided to send the last men in the tunnel out for an escape. Now would be the chance to see if Carter's story would hold up.

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Carter listened closely and nodded, as Hogan finished explaining what he wanted him to do. Slipping on the last piece of the uniform, Carter reached for a comb, and combed his hair.

"-came here. Is that all clear? Do you have any questions?" Hogan watched as Carter sat the comb down.

"Um…no. I, uh, I think that's all clear."

"Can you repeat it back to me?"

"Okay, well, I uh, escaped during the night in a garabage truck."

"Correct."

"And then I uh, tried to get on a train to Switzerland."

"Good."

"But got caught, interrogated. And sent to Dortmund, where I broke out of jail by stealing the keys off a guard."

"Correct."

"Then, I wondered around, eventually finding my way south. I slept in barns, and in bushes, trying to get to Switzerland, which is how I ended up here."

"Good."

"What if they don't believe me Colonel?" Carter looked at Hogan scared.

"Oh they'll believe you. Don't worry about that. Hochstetter might not, but I'll take care of him. You just don't mess up your cover story." Hogan said seriously. Carter shook his head in understanding.

"Guess I should, uh, get out then, Sir."

"Good Luck, Carter. And I'll try and greet you when they recapture you."

"Thanks, Colonel." Carter took a deep breath and made his way to the emergency exit under the tree stump.


	20. Chapter 20

_I want to thank everyone for all the reviews! And I hope everyone enjoys my (very long chapter) ending! :D_

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The next 24 hours seemed to drag on for everyone in Stalag Luft 13. To the prisoners in the cooler, they felt as if they were going to die from overcrowding and cabin fever. To the guards, they were tired of searching for the prisoners. To the prisoners outside the wire, they were tired of waiting for their turn, to the German officers, Burkhalter, Hochstetter, and Bähr who were tired of dealing with this mess. To Hogan as he was impatient and wanted to get this situation over with. To Carter who was waiting nervously in an abandoned house. To Klink, who had just had a non-stop trip from Poland. There was no one within a 5 kilometre radius who was happy with the situation at the moment.

As Klink stepped out of the motorcar, he was bombarded by Hochstetter, Burkhalter, and Bähr trying to get him to do each of their bidding. Klink felt overwhelmed having not slept in quiet literally one week. He felt that all he wanted to do was have his hot drink and sleep for a month. But sleep would have to wait as Burkhalter filled him in on the situation. Klink couldn't help but smile and tower over the man who had taken over his job.

"Der Dienst…ein bisschen _zu schwer_, _Oberstleutnant_ _Rudolf Bähr_? _(The job…. A little _too difficult_?)_" Klink smirked as the man fumed.

„Nee Kling- _(No Ring-)_" Bähr started to say as Burkhalter lead the group towards Klink's office.

"Klink!" Klink stomped his foot interrupting.

"Genug! _(Enough!)_" Burkhalter yelled, causing the men to stop mid argument. Opening the door, the quartet entered, and Klink sat behind his desk feeling satisfied with himself.

"Klink, Sie sind nochmal Kommandant des Lagers. _(Klink, you are once again Kommandant of this camp.)_" Burkhalter turned from facing Klink to facing Bähr. "Bähr, Sie fahren Morgen ab. _(Bähr, you are leaving tomorrow.)_"

"Morgen? Aver Herr General- _(Tomorrow? But General-)_" Bähr started to protest. Klink laughed. "Hol d'e Muhl, Oberst Link. _(Oh shut-up, Colonel Dubious)_"

"Klink! Kliiink!" Klink stood up and faced the man.

"Halt die Klappe, ihr beide! _(Shut-up, both of you!)_" Burkhalter shouted above the two men. He could feel his headache, that was this camp, worsening. "Bähr, weggetreten! Hohl Ihren Sohn ab, and treffen Sie mir in fünf Minuten. Ich rede mit euch. _Bähr, dismissed! Grab your son, and meet me in five minutes. I want to speak with both of you.)_"

„Jawohl, Herr General." Bähr glared at Klink as he exited. Burkhalter turned to Klink, who was sitting down.

"Klink. Sie sind nochmal Kommandant. Aber. Aaaaber. Sie müssen alle die Männer finden, Carter auch. Nur bis dann, sind Sie Kommandant... danach... (You are once again Kommandant. But. Buuut. You need to find all the men, Carter included. Only until then, will you be Kommandant... afterwards...)"

"Das kommt in die Tüte! Isch finde die Männer! Keine Sorge, Herr General! _(That will happen! I will find the men! No worries, General!)_"

"Gut Klink. Obwohl... ob Sie nich' Carter finden… _(Good, Klink. Although... if you do not find Carter…)_"

„Keine Sorge, Herr General! Isch finde ihn! _(No worries, General! I will find him!)_" Klink smiled happily as he saluted Burkhalter several times, who looked unconvinced. Shaking his head as he returned the salute, he exited to talk to the two Bährs, leaving Klink alone in his office. _The first order of business is to talk Hogan into telling me where the prisoners are, maybe I can bargain with him by letting the prisoners in the cooler out…._ Klink pondered.

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Newkirk exited the cooler followed shortly be the 300 men also crammed in there with him. Stretching as far as he could go, Newkirk paused off to the side as he watched the horde of men pass him, easily picking up LeBeau as he was nearly trampled over.

"'Ey, Louis! Wait up."

"What is it, Newkirk?" LeBeau turned annoyed towards Newkirk.

"What? Do I need a reason to talk with me little mate? I just wanted to see what barracks ya were 'eading towards. Since I was on me way to see the Colonel."

"I was heading back towards the one I was reassigned to, since all my things are there. But, oui, we should see le Colonel." LeBeau fell into stride with Newkirk, before pealing off and heading towards his old Barrack.

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Hogan entered the common just in time to see a group of men enter. The men immediately noticed the look of confusion and surprise on their CO's face, since they had all been previously assigned another barracks. Corporal David Martin was the first to address his commander.

"Colonel, sorry to surprise you like this, Sir." Martin felt awkward since he normally didn't communicate with Hogan, as he was simply a digger, and felt he didn't deserve any real recognition.

"Oh!" Hogan was brought out of his trance by Martin. "I see everyone has been released from the cooler."

"Yes, Sir. Klink finally released us."

"Good." Hogan nodded. "I just spoke with him not 10 minutes ago, I'm glad to see he followed through on his promise." Hogan watched as the men settled down into different bunks. "Um, forgive me the way this will sound… but what are all of you doing in here?"

"Oh! Of course! You were gone, Colonel. Kommandant Bähr separated us by Nationality and rank."

"Oh!" Hogan was surprised. Since this was as close to a true POW camp as the moon was to being a planet. "Well…. Since Klink is back…. Everyone should be able to return to his normal barracks."

"Must we Colonel? I must say that your Barrack is much nicer than mine." Another Corporal, spoke up.

"Same here Colonel." A third made his voice known.

"I'm sorry fellas, but you know the rules. Only those on the main team get to bunk here, or people we are suspicious of."

"Right Colonel."

"Okay, Sir." The two men muttered respectively. Hogan watched as the rest of them awkwardly started to repack their things. He started to pour himself a cup of hot water, as Newkirk entered the room from the outside.

"Colonel! Long time no see." Newkirk grinned wide, as he stepped into the room, before glancing over at the man currently laying on his bottom bunk. "'Ey mate. That's me bunk."

"Sorry Newkirk, you were housed with the other Limies." The man sat up shrugging.

"Alright! That's enough!" Hogan slammed his drink down on the stove. "I am putting an end to this before it goes any further. I don't care what rank or nationality anyone is from! Everyone back to your regular bunk! And that's an order!" Hogan rubbed his temples. A moment later everyman aside from Newkirk and Hogan scurried across the room and outside. "This war is going to kill me one day. And not because of a bullet…" Hogan muttered sipping his hot water again.

"It's alright, Colonel. One day you'll get to write your memories and it'll all be worth it." Newkirk layed down on his bottom bunk. Hogan snickered.

"Who would want to read The Tales of Robert Hogan?"

"I dunno. I'm sure somebody would." Newkirk leaned back, rummaging through the footlocker for his cards for a moment till he realized they were with the other British in Barrack 21.

"Newkirk….I'm actually glad you're here." Hogan turned towards Newkirk and sat down on the bench across from him. Newkirk stopped rummaging, and sat up on the bed. "According to Carter…. You spoke German to some Germans the other night."

"That's right, guv. We were in a tight spot, and I spun some tales. Nothin' to it."

"That's not what I mean." Hogan felt awkward bring up the subject. "I mean. You _spoke_ German. _To_ Germans." He paused a moment, hoping the underling meaning would reach Newkirk. Newkirk nodded awkwardly as the meaning of what his CO was trying to say reached him.

"'At's right. I did."

"How did they treat you? Did you run into any difficulties doing that…." Hogan tried not to look Newkirk directly in the face, as he was sure the two of them were blushing from awkward moment.

"Um…" Newkirk coughed a little to break the tension as he looked away. "Yes, well. They treated me like scum, but 'at's what Jerry does. 'E's round the bend. But I must say, guv. It felt good to spin those tales. To fool 'im and turn 'im 'round so much 'at 'e would 'ave believed the sky were yellow if I told 'im." Newkirk was starting to sweat as he was very self conscious. Hogan nodded.

"But they didn't threaten you in anyway?"

"No guv. Just 'arassed." Newkirk desperately wanted to end the conversation and get outside to some air. Hogan looked to his right starring at the leg of a random bunk, considering what Newkirk was saying, before turning back and facing him. Hogan started could feel his palms sweat, and he nervously rubbed them over it each other.

"Well Newkirk. I owe you an apology then. I thought I was protecting you by keeping you from going outside the wire, and being more involved. But this incident has set me straight. From this moment on, I grant you full rights to go outside the wire like myself and Olsen. But. If things get dangerous, we may need to change that. Until then, consider it your right to fight their crazed ideas of purity by speaking German with a stutter all you want." Hogan smiled. Newkirk half returned it. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. Since he got exactly what he wanted, the ability to go on missions outside the wire, but at the same time, he was quite embarrassed to have his Commander talk about his stutter as such.

"Thanks guv." Newkirk managed to say. "I'm uh, gonna go get me cards from the other barrack."

"Alright Newkirk." Hogan nodded.

"Right…" Newkirk half muttered as he crossed the room, and step welcomingly into the mild afternoon air, just in time to watch another lorry entered with more prisoners. _Ol' Schultz 'as been busy_. Newkirk grinned.

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Carter felt déjà vu bouncing in the back of the LKW, _this is what? My eighth trip in one of these in three weeks? Four weeks? How long has it been since I was shot down? _Carter couldn't remember. The last month of his life was a blur. _The last week? Two weeks? Especially. _He shook his head as he once again watched the scenery pass by. Slowly the view outside the lorry slowed as the approached the gates to the camp, and Carter found himself once again, jumping out shackled and being lead up to the Kommandant's office.

Carter was pushed and lead much as he was the first day, and soon found that, just like that first day, Colonel Robert Hogan was quickly by his side.

"Colonel Hogan, what are you doing here?" Colonel Klink asked as Schultz, Mann, Carter, and Hogan all entered his office.

"Making sure that this poor man's rights are respected, Colonel! I know how tough you can be." Hogan stood directly next to Carter's right side. Burkhalter, who was seated next to Klink's desk openly chuckled. Klink immediately became infuriated.

"Colonel Hogan I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that when I will interrogate this man I will abide by the rules of the Geneva Convention. Now out Hogan."

"I request to be present."

"Denied Hogan." Klink crossed his arms.

"Granted Hogan." Burkhalter puffed carefree on his cigar.

"Granted Hogan." Klink quickly replied, uncrossing his arms.

"Thank you Kommandant." Hogan sat down on the chair that was off to the side of the desk. Carter glanced around for a second one, but found none, so he remained standing.

"Klink, holen Sie den Major Hochstetter ab. Er will hier sein. _(Klink, go get Major Hochstetter. He will want to be here.)_"

„Auf jeden Fall, Herr General! _(Of course, General!)_" Klink picked up the phone, and relayed the message to his secretary. As Klink placed the phone back down, everyman became immediately quiet, lost in his own thoughts. Several minutes passed, as they listened to the tick-tock of the clock hanging on the wall, before the sound of heavy bootsteps raced up the front steps and slammed into the office.

"DU! _(YOU!)_" Hochstetter pointed at Carter. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"Me?" Carter was genuinely frightened. "I've been here."

"No. I don't mean for the last 10 minutes. I mean WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN! FOR THE LAST WEEK?"

"Oh! Several places."

"BAH!" Hochstetter finished storming into the room, slamming the door behind him. "Lassen Sie mir ihn zurück nach Dortmund bringen, und-. _(Let me take him back to Dortmund, and-)_" Hochstetter faced Klink. Klink licked his lips nervously.

"Nein." Burkhalter continued to puff on his cigar.

"Nein, Herr General? Nein? Aber er ist- _(No, General? No? But he is-)_"

"Er _ist_, Major, ein Gefangener. Ein Gefangener der _Luftwaffe_. Ist das klar? _(He _is_, Major, a prisoner. A prisoner of the _Luftwaffe_. Ist hat understood?)_"

„Klar, Herr General. _(Understood, General.)_" Hochstetter spat.

"Schön. _(Good.)_" Burkhalter starred down Hochstetter. "Now Carter. The Major here would like to know just how you escaped him. If you would be so kind." Burkhalter played carelessly with the cigar, as Hochstetter faced Carter face to face, and Hogan held his breath.

"Um, well Sir. I uh, stole the keys of a guard?"

"LIAR!" Hochstetter yelled, as he turned to Burkhalter. "ER LÜGT! _(HE'S LYING!)_"

"Und wieso, Hochstetter? _(And how is that, Hochstetter?)_" Burkhalter was tired of this game.

"Isch weiiiißt nisch', aber er lügt... _(I don't knoooow, but he is lying…)_" Hochstetter again faced Carter just centimetres away from his nose as Burkhalter rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Sergeant Carter. How did you steal the keys?"

"I uh, reached through the bars and um, grabbed them off the belt when they shoved me in there."

"There, satisfied Major?" Hogan stood up.

"No, Hogan, because he is lying."

"And why would he do that?" Hogan took a step closer to Carter, as if consciously protecting him from the major.

"I don't know. But he isn't the only one hiding something here, _Colonel Hogan_."

"Well when you find that out, let me know will you?" Hogan prayed his sarcasm would cover up the nervousness and fright he felt from the Major.

"There major. You have your answer. Now I suggest you leave, as this is Luftwaffe business." Klink spoke in English hoping to emphasise his authority and expertise as he stood up; and hoping that Hochstetter wouldn't challenge him, as he was summing all the courage he had to put on the front.

"Sie hab'm Klink schon gehört, Hochstetter, raus! _(You heard Klink, Hochstetter, out!)_" Burkhalter smiled mischiefly. If there was one pleasure he had in life, it was seeing others scramble before him.

"Her-"

"Raus Hochstetter! _(Out Hochstetter!)_"

"Zu Befehl, Herr Gen-er-al! _(As you wish, Herr Gen-er-al!)_" Hochstetter spit as he slammed the door behind him. Klink toppled into this chair, as Burkhalter smiled.

"Now, Carter. How did you end up here?"

"Well General, I was on my way to Switzerland-" Carter went through the whole cover story, that Hogan had provided him. Klink and Burkhalter continued to question him, yet at everyturn, Carter was able to provide a consistent answer, until both men were satisfied.

"Tja, schon gut. _(Well…whatever.)_" Burkhalter yawned.

"Sehr gut, Herr General! _(Very good, General!)_ Carter, I am assigning you 90 days in the cooler-"

"What?" Hogan stood up again in shock. "But Kommandant-!"

"Hogan! I must keep discipline here. Ninety days it is. Now you are dismissed. Schuuuuultz!" Klink yelled. Hogan watched as Carter was dragged to the cooler. Chewing on his lower lip for a moment, he exited and headed for his room. He needed to listen on the conversation between Burkhalter and Klink to find out if Klink would stay before trying to reduce Carter's sentence.

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As Hogan crossed the compound, a weary, and foul smelling Schultz fell into stride with him.

"Colonel Hogan….Colonel Hogan!"

"Schultz! Nice to see you again. You look tired."

"Oh I am. But I have found all your men. Every last one. Even that new one. Um… what's his name. That boy…"

"Carter?"

"Oh yes. Him. A very nice boy." Schultz tried to keep up with Hogan as Hogan continued to take large steps. Mid step Hogan stopped and turned towards the guard.

"Schultz. You don't happen to know what's going to happen to you, do you? Are you going to stay here? Are they going to transfer you?"

"I don't know Colonel Hogan…they haven't told me yet."

"Well…when they do…" Hogan grabbed a chocolate bar from his bomber jacket and dropped it into Schultz's breadbag. "Lemme know, will you?"

"Sure thing, Colonel Hogan."

"Good Schultz." Hogan half squeezed half patted Schultz's left arm welcoming him back. "If you drop by later, I'm sure LeBeau will cook something for you."

"I'm glad to be back."

"We are glad you're back too." Hogan started to take another step, but stopped as Schultz opened his mouth.

"When the war is over, you should come visit me in München."

"I…. I would love to Schultz." Hogan turned to him, surprised and taken aback for a moment at both of their honousty, momentarily forgetting about listening in on the conversation between Klink and Burkhalter.

"It does not look like much at the moment. But after the war, you should come visit. It is a very pretty city."

"That… that would be great, Georgi. I would love to. What did you do before the war anyways?" Hogan had visions of Schultz being a toymaker, it somehow seemed to fit him.

"I was the owner of a company called Schatullenkrönung (1). It was a very famous and very prestigious company for Women's Undergarments." Schultz stood up proud. Hogan blinked several times to clear his brain.

"Oh, um, oh, uh, al…alright, Schultzi. Good... good to know."

„But the Government took it over, and now they make men's undergarments for the Russian Front. But after the war. I'll take care of your wife's clothes when you become married."

"Errr… um…th...thanks, Schultz…."

"You should get married, Colonel Hogan. Settle down with a pretty Fräulein. Bachelorhood is not good for a man."

"I, uh, I… gotta…. go…" Hogan turned and hurried into the barracks, hoping he hadn't just missed the entire conversation between Burkhalter and Klink, and not wanting to dwell on the memories of the girl who had lit up his world with her light before it had burnt out.

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Hogan entered the barrack, bearly glancing around to see that half of his regular barracksmates were back in their normal bunks, before dashing for the coffeepot. Throwing on the switch he was able to catch the last part of the conversation between Burkhalter and Klink before leaping up and down for joy like a child. The men in the common room, curious as to what was going on with the CO, quickly piled into this room, to listen to the rest of the conversation.

_"Tatsächlisch, Herr General?_ _(__**Really, General?**__)_"

_"Bitte Klink…. Fragen Sie mir nicht wieder….Ansonst ändere ich meine Meinung. (__**Please Klink...don't ask me again, otherwise I'll change my mind.**__)_"

_„Isch sag' gar nischts, Herr General! Danke Herr General- (__**I won't say anything, General! Thank you General!**__)_"

_„Klink. Halt die Klappe. (__**Klink. Shut-up.**__)_" Burkhalter could be heard standing up. "_Ich fahre morgen ab. Bis dann, stören Sie mich nich'_. (_**I'm leaving tomorrow. Until then, don't disturb me.**__)_"

_„Selbstverständlisch, Herr General! (__**Understandable, General!**__)_" Klink could also be heard standing up. "_Aber General Burkhalter. Was ist mit dem Schultz? (__**But General. What is going to happen with Schultz?**__)_" Burkhalter sighed before answering.

"_Leider….bleibt er. __(__**Unfortunately… he stays.**__)__" _Burkhalter shook his head as he muttered to himself._ "Ich versteh' es nicht. Aber mit ihm...mit Ihnen... verstehe es nich'...__ (__**I don't understand it. But with him… with you… I don't understand it…**__)_" There was a shuffle and the sound of a door closing, as Hogan unplugged the coffee pot. A moment of silent passed between the men crammed in Hogan's room, before the loudest cheer that could be hear a kilometre away erupted amongst them.

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The news quickly passed that the operation was back in business. However for a few members of Stalag Luft 13, with the tension and stress of pending doom gone, they were nervous as to the coming days and decision of Colonel Robert Hogan.

Hogan sat at his desk, thinking of just how and what he should do with those responsible for the mess of the past two weeks. Dealing out punishment was not a favourite duty of his, and one that he was not particularly good at, since he tended to forgive and forget. Shifting in his chair, he decided he better get it over with.

Hogan walked over to the cooler, _starting with Carter will be the easiest, since in a way, he was an innocent in all of this._ As Hogan entered, the warm spring afternoon turned immediately chilly inside the cold, dark, damp, building.

"Carter?" Hogan's voice echoed as the guard escorted him down the hall.

"Colonel? That you?" Carter's voice echoed back.

"Yes Carter." Hogan walked up to the door of the cell. The guard nodded and took a few steps back, giving some privacy, but still close to ensure that there was no assistance in escaping going on. "I wanted to let you know, that I spoke with Klink, and I have reduced your ninety day sentence to seven."

"Seven! Um thank you, Sir. But Seven? You couldn't talk him out of it? Not that I don't appreciate it, boy. I mean Sir."

"Well…Carter…that's the thing. I could have. But I wanted to give you some time to think by yourself before you were overwhelmed by the ongoings in the camp. This week will give you time in peace to think about what exactly you want from this war, and what role you wish to play in it. It will also serve as punishment for attempting to escape under my nose. This is not something I tolerate. However, as you were new, I am being very lenient. You did not break any of my rules on purpose, as the other men did, thus the seven days instead of the full ninety that Klink assigned." Hogan spoke softly, so the guard would not hear. Carter nodded as he listened.

"Thank you, Sir."

"But the next time you break them, as you will have full knowledge of them, I will not be as understanding." Hogan's tone became stern. "But for now I am giving you only seven days, and I want you to seriously think about what we talked about during that time. I still think you will make an excellent member, but that comes with sacrifice, and if you are willing to make it, at the end of these seven days, we will talk again." Hogan nodded at Carter and the guard let him outside, were he crossed the compound this time in search of Sergeants Sewell Binnie and Tom Rose.

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Hogan found the two friends hanging out in the Rec Hall playing darts. Upon seeing Hogan, the two men straightened up and all blood drained of their faces.

"SIR!" The two men dropped the darts on the floor in surprise as they saluted. Hogan returned the gesture and indicated that he wanted them to followed.

"If you two will follow me to my office."

"YES SIR!" The responded in unison, following Hogan to his office. Once seated on his lower bunk, Hogan stood in front of them, like a school teacher giving a lecture to a set of misbehaving pupils.

"Alright…" Hogan sighed. "I've thought it over." He paused a moment, not to cause discomfort in his subordinates but because he didn't want to punish his men. "And while both of you, especially you Sergeant Binnie, had the best interests of the operation at heart, both of you did infact break security. And security is the only thing keeping us from living and certain death. We have rules for a reason! Both of you know that! Now I am not saying that what you did was irresponsible, since it is obvious that you saved the lives of Olsen and the others. But, for heaven's sake, you could have gotten the lot of us here killed! What if Carter had indeed been a spy! Been working for that crazed Hochstetter guy?"

"But Colonel! He found the tunnel on his own-" Sparky started to say, but was interrupted by Hogan.

"I know that, Sparky. And I will take care of that. But you showed him the entire operation, and you," Hogan turned to Rose, "took him outside the wire."

"I'm sorry, Colonel." Rose hung his head and whispered. "I only wanted to save the lives of the guys outside." Hogan closed his eyes for a moment hating himself for being so harsh, but he was in command, and this was part of the job.

"I know you are both sorry. And I've taken into consideration the fact that you did both save the lives of the men outside by using a resource at your disposal. However, in doing so, you broke our number one rule: Do _NOT_ show our operation to _ANYONE_ who was not _PERSONALLY_ cleared by me."

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes, Sir."

"Now. Sergeant Sewell Binnie." Sparky stood up. "In regards to your actions taken eleven days ago, I am sentencing you to nightly radio duty for one month. You are also banned from the Rec Hall during this time and will be on KP duty during its duration. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Sergeant Tom, Rose."

"Yes, Sir!" Rose stood up.

"You are also banned from the Rec Hall for one month, during which time you will be on KP duty as well, and on nightly digging duty for its duration. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. You are both dismissed." Hogan watched them go, feeling incredibly guilty for punishing the very men who saved the lives of the other men under his command. However, he knew if he didn't, chaos would occur since they did infact break the most sacred security rule, by showing an unsecure person their operation. Hogan stood up and closed his door. He wanted to be alone.

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The next week crawled by as things ever so slowly returned to normal. They still had not heard from London, and Hogan was getting worried, but in the meantime, their contact in Berlin had given them a job, which Newkirk was anxious to try out with Hogan's blessing. It was a small job, delivering a piece of information, but Newkirk returned grinning from ear to ear.

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At the end of the week, Hogan waited as Carter entered the warm spring air and once again tasted freedom. Ushering him into his office, he was curious as to Carter's decision.

"I still want to Colonel. I thought it over. And I want to be a part."

"You know what this entails then. You will be shot at, possibly killed, and or possibly tortured. You will be forced to lie, steal, cheat, and even kill if necessary."

"Yes Sir. But if it means helping those like Jake, I want to. I want to end this war as quickly as possible." Carter paused a moment. "I… I heard some kids playing when I was hiding on my way here. And I listened as well as I could, for I was in a cellar. And they were kicking around a motor shell. A motor shell! It was just shell casing of course, but what kind of childhood is that? I want to end this war, and give those kids a real childhood. Please Sir. Let me help." Carter's eyes were full of sincerity. Hogan slowly nodded in sad belief at the story.

"Alright Carter. This week will be a test run. And if all goes well, in two weeks we will swear you in."

"Thank you Colonel." Carter stood up off Hogan's bed. "Sir. What happened to Jake?"

"He left with Newkirk two days ago, he is on his way to London at the moment."

"Oh, alright. I was hoping to say goodbye to him."

"Oh… I'm sorry, Carter. We had to go that night, since Hochstetter left, and we weren't sure if he was coming back. It seems Burkhalter practically threw him out of camp!" Hogan grinned, Carter smiled.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

Carter walked out into the common room, feeling for the very first time that he was apart of something bigger than himself, and that he belonged here with the rest of the men, as he approached the bunk he shared with Newkirk, he was confused to see Newkirk lying on the bottom bunk.

"Hey Newkirk."

"'Ey mate. I see ya're outta the cooler."

"I am. Um… I uh, thought the bottom bunk was mine?"

"What? No, the top is yours. The bottom is me bunk."

"Oh… okay." Carter shrugged and felt nervous as he climbed up.

"What's wrong mate?" Newkirk asked standing up and turning towards Carter as he took the first step in climbing up onto the top bunk.

"Oh nothing… it's just well… I feel nervous being up there. And well, I kinda liked being on the bottom bunk, you know, in case of …." Carter leaned in close, "nightmares."

"I understand, Andrew. That's why I like me bottom bunk. We'll work somethin' out. Even if we 'ave to switch bunks 'alf the time." Newkirk grinned. Carter nodded, as he took a second step, and hesitated.

"Newkirk?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I keep the bottom bunk… least till my leg and arm heals?"

"What? What's wrong with your leg an' arm?"

"Well I injured my leg two weeks ago. Three weeks ago? Two and a half? Oh I dunno. I injured it. I was running you see, you know from the germans and well, I took a turn down-"

"I get it. Sure, if ya need it. Why don't ya 'ave Wilson look at it, if it's botherin' ya?"

"Oh I don't wanna bother him. It's not that bad."

"Well if it's not bad enough for 'im, then get up on the top bunk." Newkirk grinned with a smile that would make an older brother proud. Carter made a face and climbed up onto the top bunk without complaint.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

The next morning, Carter woke up to the sound of Kinch running at full speed past him. Opening his eyes, he turned his head just in time to see him burst into Hogan's office. Sitting up Carter pulled on his boots from the floor, as they were in reach of the bottom bunk.

"Was 'at, Kinch?" Newkirk mumbled from the top bunk.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go see what's goin on."

"I wouldn't if I were ya. Wait for the Colonel to come to us. How was me bunk by the way. Cosy?"

"Yeah it was. Thanks Newkirk." Carter snickered. A moment passed before Hogan and Kinch both emerged from his office.

"Good news Everyone!" Hogan held up the telegram. "According to Kinch here, Sparky received a message not 10 minutes ago from London. We are officially back in business! And in wasting no time, we have a mission tonight to intercept a truck of Döner meat heading for the Russian Front. My plan is to blow it up on the bridge on the Weihertorstraße on the Fränkischen Saale. Olsen, Newkirk, and myself will go." Hogan announced. Carter tried to hide his disappointment. "Carter?" Carter looked up at Hogan as he said his name. "This will be a good one for you to start out on. Are you interested? We will need explosives by tomorrow night. Give me a list of what you will need, and I will have the underground gather the supplies." Carter nodded eagerly.

"Thank you Colonel!"

"But I want Wilson to check out your arm and leg first, make sure you're medically up to it."

"Yes, Colonel..." Carter slumped, placing his chin in his hand.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

"Are you ready Carter?" Hogan asked looking at his newest recruit.

"Oh yes Colonel Hogan! Boy, yes I am." Carter could bearly contain his excitement. It had been one week since his first assignment, and he had been looking forward to this night since then.

"Alright then raise your right hand, and repeat after me." Hogan began. "I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force."

"I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force."

"Do solemnly swear,..."

"Do solemnly swear,..."

"that I will assist escaping prisoners,..."

"that I will assist escaping prisoners,..."

"co-operate with all friendly forces,..."

"co-operate with all friendly forces,..."

"and use every means to harass and injure the enemy."

"and use every means to harass and injure the enemy. (2) " Carter smiled as he finished the oath. Hogan nodded, before starting the second half of the initiation process.

"Repeat after me-"

"After me-"

"No, no Carter. I'm starting the second oath you have to take." Hogan tried hard not to chuckle.

"Oh Sorry Colonel." Carter turned a deep shade of red, as he heard the numerous men down in the tunnel quietly chuckle.

"Okay, once again, Carter." Hogan began again, "I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force, Do solemnly swear,…"

"I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force, Do solemnly swear,…"

"to never, under any circumstances break security,…"

"to never, under…wait. Colonel?" Carter hesitantly stopped.

"Yes Carter?"

"Should I really swear to that? I mean, Sparky and Rose broke security and-"

"Carter. They did. But you need to swear to abide by it all the same. As I _NEVER_ want it broken. Is that understood?"

"Even if it costs someone their life, Sir?" Carter felt very uneasy. Hogan waited a beat before answering.

"Even if it costs someone their life. Hopefully that will never happen. But if someone is sacrificed to save the rest by not breaking it, and by not betraying his comrades by breaking security, then yes." Hogan stated it in a even tone, not wanting to mix emotions with what he was saying, or think about the words. Carter nodded.

"Okay. To never, under any circumstances break security,…"

"to follow orders regardless of personal feeling,…"

"to follow orders regardless of personal feeling,…"

"to take a life only when necessary,…"

"to take a life only when necessary,…"

"to, if needed, sacrifice the few to save the many,…"

"to, if needed, sacrifice the few to save the many,…"

"to never harm the innocent,…."

"to never harm the innocent,…."

"and to never escape."

"and to never escape." Carter finished unsure as to how he felt finishing to oath. Hogan smiled and started up again.

"Keep your hand up Carter, you got one more to go. I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force,…."

"I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force,…"

"do accept all responsibilities that my position as a member of the Papa Bear Operation brings,…"

"do accept all responsibilities that my position as a member of the Papa Bear Operation brings,…"

"be that saving a life, or taking a life, or order the sacrifice of lives, including that of my friends, and my own,…"

"be that saving a life, or taking a life, order the sacrifice of lives, including that of my friends, and my own,…" Carter gulped, hoping his voice would hold out through the rest of the oath.

"I accept and understand that I may be killed, or tortured,…"

"I accept and understand that I may be killed, or tortured,…" Carter felt like he was suffocating, as the words he was swearing to began to sink in.

"I accept and understand that what decisions and actions I take effect not only myself, but my comrades, and the Allied war effort,…"

"I accept and understand that what decisions and actions I take effect not only myself, but my comrades, and the Allied war effort,…"

"I swear and understand that if taken captive I will try and escape, and will not betray the operation, that it is better to die than to betray,…"

"I swear and understand that if taken captive I will try and escape, and will not betray the operation, that it is better to die than to betray,…" Carter's voice slightly shook.

"I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force, do solemnly swear that I will do my best,…"

"I, Andrew Jonathan Carter, Sergeant of the United States Army Air Force, do solemnly swear that I will do my best,…"

"to rid Germany and Europe,…"

"to rid Germany and Europe,…"

"of this nazi pest."

"of this nazi pest." Carter finished, grinning at the last part of the oath. Hogan smiled, as he turned to the men who had crowed down in the tunnel for the ceremony.

"I present to you, our newest member, Sergeant Andrew Jonathan Carter! To whom I expect you all to respect as he is in charge of explosions, so we want to keep him happy, boys!" Hogan yelled so those in the back could hear. A large cheer went up, that echoed through the maze of tunnel. Carter was slapped on the back, and handshakes were given. Carter turned as someone was tapping him on his shoulder and as he did, Newkirk, Kinch, Olsen, LeBeau, and the whole mess of Barrack Two dumped a large barrel of shell casings on him.

"Now you're officially one of us, mon Ami." LeBeau handed Carter a piece of the cake he had made.

"Thanks. But what's with the shell casings?"

"Well, when you get your wings, they dump you in water right? (3) " Kinch grinned.

"Well yeah."

"Since you are now a member of the Papa Bear Underground Organisation, we figured Shell Casings would be a nice touch." Olsen clasped him on the back. "You ready for what the war has in store for you?"

"Maybe? I guess I won't know till it happens, boy. But I sure hope it involves things blowing up!" Carter proceeded to add sound effects to his sentence.

"I think ya bonkers, but ya'll do alright." Newkirk flicked a shell of Carter's shoulder. "By the way, the bottom bunk is mine tonight."

"Sure thing Newkirk." Carter felt overwhelmed as everyone kept talking to him at once. Hogan walked over quietly and tapped on Carter's shoulder that he should follow him.

"One last thing Carter. I need you to fill out this paper work. Kinch here can help you." Carter looked over his shoulder as Kinch appeared, much to Carter's startlement, out of nowhere.

"Uh, sure. What all am I filling out?"

"Next of kin in case you're killed, agreeing to the rules of security, psychological questionnaire, basic information, like your birthday, so we can use that in the future as a cover. Those sort of things." Kinch sat down next to Carter at the small table. Which was a true feat, since the tunnel was crowded beyond capacity. Carter started filling out the forms, when music started from somewhere. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping to remember this for the rest of his life. _Which better be a long time. I wonder what the war does have in store for me. I'm sure it's full of adventure. But whatever it is, I'm ready for it head on. After tonight's party, bad luck charm or not, 'I'm going to do my best, to ride Germany and Europe of this nazi pest'. _Carter opened his eyes. _But first paperwork. Then tomorrow, boom, poof, bang!_ Carter imagined all the sounds of all the bridges and lorries he was going to get to explode during his duration as a member of the Papa Bear Underground Organisation at Stalag Luft 13.

-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-

_(1) Schultz being a toymaker (of the company Schatzi, I believe?) is something that is new to me, but I have seen it a lot in Fanfiction. As far as I know, he is the owner of Schatullenkrönung, but once again, maybe this is a EkvH thing?_

_(2) This Quote: "You'll assist escaping prisoners, cooperate with all friendly forces, and use every means to harass and injure the enemy." Comes from Season 3 Episode 27: "Shanghai-Lilly" or "The Collector General" Special thanks to Crystal Rose of Pollux for helping me with this._

_(3) This is true._


End file.
